The Long Journey Home
by Meluivan Indil
Summary: COMPLETE! Sequel to Blood For the Taking. Legolas, Aragorn, and Atavus head back to Rivendell after their ordeal in Dol Guldur, but run into an adversary from the past that is looking for revenge. Torture, Angst.
1. Chapter 1: Home Is Where The Heart Is

**Disclaimer: **Nothing in the Tolkein Universe belongs to me. I am not making any profit from this, and will return the characters in the best possible shape that I can. The only characters in this fic that belong to me are my original characters such as Atavus and Uglúk. Please don't borrow them unless you ask first.

**Author's Note: **This story is the first sequel to _Blood For the Taking, _and if you don't read it first you will probably not understand this one. As in that story this story is filled with lots of character torture, both mental and physical. And as a side note I have decided to stay to one name for Aragorn in this fic. I'm not sure if my going back and forth in the last one might have confused anyone. Aragorn goes by his elvish name, Estel in this fic.

**Home Is Where The Heart Is**

"Is the mountain pass clear yet?" Atavus asked as the Mirkwood patrol entered the main gate.

"Yes my lady." The leader of the patrol answered.

"Thank you." She said rushing off to the archery field. When she arrived she spotted Legolas and Estel practicing.

She rushed up to them, making the mistake of stepping in front of Estel as he took aim on the target. He had not heard her approach.

"Arrow." Legolas shouted, seeing what was happening.

Atavus immediately dropped to the ground. The arrow had missed her head by mere inches.

"What kind of fool thing was that to do?" Estel asked stalking over to her.

She lounged on the grass where she had fallen looking up with a bright smile on her face. Near arrow misses wouldn't even bring her spirits down on this day.

"An accident. I didn't see you aim." She answered laughing at the stern look on his face.

"What is so funny?" He asked not understanding her mirth.

"You look exactly like Lord Elrond when he is admonishing the twins for one of their many pranks." She said laughing even harder.

Estel looked to Legolas who just nodded his agreement. Then he looked back to Atavus. His frown then turned into a smile, as he too started laughing at himself. "All right. But what has gotten you in such a good mood this morning?"

"The mountain pass is open. We can go home Estel." She said with the biggest smile she could.

"I didn't realize you wanted to leave my Kingdom that badly, Atavus" Legolas said feigning hurt feelings.

"It's not that Legolas. I like Mirkwood, but I want to be home. I miss it so bad." She tried to explain.

"I understand my friend. We were just talking about when we should leave." Legolas couldn't believe the change in Atavus since they had escaped Dol Guldur. Before they were captured she had been happy, but in a melancholy sort of way. There were too many uncertainties in her life that caused her to feel uneasy in most situations. But no longer. Since Dol Guldur, she seemed to have come to accept herself more. She was more confident and sure of herself. He could see that a lot of the unresolved ill feelings she had harbored before had completely disappeared from her mind. She had gained something in her time at Dol Guldur that meant more to her than life itself. She had gained a family, and a place to truly belong, and now she wanted to go home. He understood more than she realized.

"Did you say we?" She asked receiving a teasing smile from the blond haired elf. "Did he say we?" She turned to Estel hoping to receive more cooperation on his part. Again she just received a smile.

"You did. I heard you. You're coming with us." She said bounding to her feet. She wanted to leave immediately. The fact that she thought Legolas wouldn't be coming with them was what had kept her from just rushing out the gate.

"Yes I am, but we don't leave for a few days. My father will want to host a farewell banquet before we leave. It's a ridiculous custom, but he always insists upon it when I leave his realm." Legolas explained. He wasn't sure if she could contain her excitement long enough not to insult his father.

"Okay. I promise I won't insult your father. I will look sufficiently upset to be leaving Mirkwood when we say our farewells." She promised, setting a depressed look to her face so they could see that she would be able to pull it off.

To her chagrin they both broke out laughing hard enough to draw attention to the three of them. The other elves on the archery field stopped what they were doing to watch their prince. "I do believe you too have lost your sanity. Maybe I ought to go get your father's healers." She said trying to focus the embarrassment on her friends instead of herself. She knew the suggestion would get their attention.

"That's not funny." Legolas said gruffly. To him having to see his father's healers was a sentence worse than death.

"Wasn't it?" She smiled evilly at them.

* * *

The three friends started off on a beautiful pre-spring day. There was still a small amount of snow on the ground, but the ever-increasing sunshine was melting it quickly. This time they took the longer route through Mirkwood across the Old Forrest Rode. Atavus enjoyed walking through the woods. They reminded her of Ithilien in a way. Ithilien had been dark, being so close to Mordor, but it still held it's inner beauty. The voices of the trees had made living there easy for her. She had been blessed with the elven ability to speak to the trees, just as the Silvan elves in Mirkwood had, and she had found that the Mirkwood trees were not much different than the Ithilien trees had been. As they left the forest she said her farewells to the trees, and they in return rustled their leaves in response.

They spent most of the days with the men telling her of more of their adventures, and she in turn, would tell them of the pranks her and Garin had pulled on the orcs of Minas Morgul. She felt happy to be able to look back on that time and remember the small good things instead of just the bad.

It seemed to Atavus that all was right and good with her life, but little did she know that her life would soon take a very wrong turn.

* * *

"I want them alive." The orc commanded his followers. "Separate them and then take them down one by one." The orc had waited watching the Old Forrest Road, knowing that they would eventually have to come that way to return to Rivendell. When they had passed he had ordered his orcs to follow them leaving plenty of room so the elf would not be able to sense their presence. He waited until they had started over the high mountain pass, knowing that to fight a wood elf in a forest was unwise. They would have a better chance in the mountains.

His orcs had taken them once before, and he knew with the trio outnumbered more than twenty to one he could do it again. They thought he was dead. That would also work to his favor. He hadn't died though, but when the Nazgul returned to find his prisoners gone, along with most of his slaves, he had wished that he were. But things were different now. He wasn't working for the Nazgul. He and his men had left Dol Guldur, and now lived in the caves that were not very far from the mountain pass. But he wanted his revenge. He would torment and then kill the three friends for what they had done to him.

Legolas paused sensing something wasn't right. Estel had seen that look on his friends face before. "What is it Legolas?"

"We are not alone." He answered.

At that moment a loud growling noise was heard, as dozens of orcs swarmed at them from the rocks above. They were surrounded on both sides of the path by large boulders, and there was little chance of escaping the attack. Their only choice was to fight. They started the fight with all three of them standing back to back, but the orcs were following their new masters orders, and managed to separate the three warriors. Legolas bounded on top of a nearby boulder shooting arrows down to the path taking out as many orcs as he could. Atavus had chosen a boulder opposite of where Legolas was, joining in the fun of targeting the orcs. Estel unfortunately could not scale the boulders so he stayed on the path using his sword to dismember the oncoming orcs.

Estel was almost overrun with the monsters at the moment and they were picking them off as fast as possible. Atavus reached back to her quiver to draw another arrow, but there was nothing there. "Ai, never enough arrows when you need them." She looked to Legolas signaling that she was out, and then dove into the fray below, with sword drawn, ready to continue the fight. Legolas still had a few arrows left, so he continued to aim at the beasts below.

The orcs were finally beginning to thin out for the moment. Atavus had just decapitated one of the larger orcs when she heard a noise from above. She looked up to see Legolas being carried off by an orc. He had been concentrating so close to the battle below that he had missed the presence of the orc behind him, and was knocked unconscious.

"Estel." She yelled. When she had his attention she pointed above. Estel could see the predicament that Legolas was in, but neither of them could break away from the battle just yet.

It took several more moments for them to dispense with the rest of the orcs, precious moments that they could not afford to spare. They immediately took off in the direction that the orc had gone.

* * *

"What do you mean you could only capture one?" Uglúk screamed at the orc who had brought the unconscious elf into his cave.

"Captain, they were too skilled. They killed all of the orcs that I took with me." The underling answered in fear.

"The three of them killed almost sixty of your finest soldiers. How?" The captain was furious.

"The elf and the girl had a better vantage point than we did. They were able to pick off at least thirty-five of my warriors with their bows. I was able to sneak behind the elf and club him."

"Get out of my sight. Round up the rest of the troop and go out looking for them. If you come back empty handed you will take their place in my torture chamber." The captain snarled.

* * *

"What are we going to do? It is impossible to track the orc who took Legolas over this rocky ground, and there are hundreds of caves in this area that they can hide in." Estel could hear the desperation in Atavus' voice.

"We will find him. Don't give up hope." Estel tried to reassure her. At that moment they heard the sound of many feet rushing towards them. "Hide."

Atavus saw that the orc who led the troop looked very much like the one who had taken Legolas. She began to leave their hiding place behind the boulders, but Estel held her back. "No they don't have him. We must go the way they came from and try to find him."

"But Estel, that is the orc who took him. If we can question him, maybe we can discover where Legolas is." Atavus argued pointing at the orc leading the small troop. "There are less than a dozen. We can take them."

Estel hadn't gotten as good a look at the orc who took Legolas as Atavus had, and besides that, to him all orcs looked the same. Ugly. Atavus had spent many years studying the orcs. She knew their distinguishing marks. She could tell them apart easily, and that was the orc who took her friend.

"All right. We rush them on three." He said starting to count.

"Three." Atavus yelled leaving the cover of the boulder. Estel couldn't believe that Legolas called him reckless. Compared to Atavus he considered himself to be cautious. He followed her, and they attacked. It was quick work disposing of the small band of orcs, and they were careful not to kill the leader.

The beast was wounded but Estel was sure it would live. "Where have you taken our friend?" He said placing the tip of his sword to the orcs throat.

"You will never find him." Was the creature's only answer.

"If you don't tell me I will slice your neck." He warned.

"That would be a much easier death than the one I would receive if I told you."

"Who holds him?" Estel decided to try a different approach.

"One who wishes to kill you."

Estel was becoming frustrated. The orc was talking in riddles and they weren't getting any of the information they needed.

"I'll tell you what. If you don't tell me I'll let you go, and when we find who holds him I will say you told us. Whoever it is can hunt for your blood, if I don't kill him first." Estel threatened. He was surprised to see the look of fear cross the orcs face, and was even more surprised when the orc lunged forward spearing itself on Estel's sword.

"Ai, what kind of being could instill this much fear in one who cares for nothing?" He wondered as he pulled his sword from the creature.

"I don't know, but I hate to think of what it might be doing to our friend." Atavus said scanning the mountainside. "Come we have some caves to search."

* * *

Legolas' mind was foggy as he came back around. He was in a dark room that had but one small candle burning in the corner. His hands were bound in front of him and they were attached to some kind of leather harness that was around his bare chest. There were straps that went around his stomach, and over both his shoulders. They fastened to a metal latch in the center of his back. He found that a chain ran from the wall and attached to the latch in the harness. He could not reach the latch with his hands bound to the front of the harness, the way they were. There was no way to remove the harness that he could see.

He looked around the small room and for the first time realized that he was actually in a cave. He hated caves. He wondered if his friends had escaped or if they were being held like him somewhere in the cave system.

He didn't have to wonder long. "Your friends will never find you here. We are deep inside the mountain range." He knew that voice. But it was impossible. Atavus had killed him. But no there he was walking into the room sneering at the elf. "You will remain my guest for quite some time Your Highness."

"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" The elf asked sarcastically.

"The freak tried, but yet again she failed to defeat me." The orc smiled smugly. "But that's okay. Soon I will have my favorite plaything back and I'll have you to thank for it. For you are the bait in my trap elf."

Legolas jerked forward, wanting nothing more than to wrap his hands around the orcs throat and choke the life right out of him. But to his surprise when he reached the end of the chain he could feel sharp pain running along the leather straps of the harness." He winced in pain pulling back. He looked down and could see blood running down his stomach and chest from underneath the straps.

"Do you like your new outfit? There are razor sharp pieces of metal imbedded into the underside of the straps. Every time you pull against the harness, it will cut deeper into your skin, and there really is no way for you to free yourself. We use them to train young wargs. Fitting that it is used on an animal like you." The orc just leaned against the wall watching the hateful look that the elf was giving him.

"Why don't you just give it up? Don't you have anything better to do than tormenting us?" Legolas asked, but he knew his words would make no difference to the orc.

"No actually I don't." Was the orcs answer as he left the room.

Legolas looked up imagining the stars that he could not see through the tons of rock. "Why, why Ilúvatar would you submit us to this again? What have we done to deserve this vile creatures obsession?"

* * *

_Well that's the end of chapter one. What do you think? I'm not sure if I will be updating quite as fast with this story. I want to take my time and get it right. I noticed when I read over Blood For the Taking after it was all done that I made a lot of grammatical mistakes, and I want to take more time to avoid that with this story. I am going to go back and fix those mistakes soon, but for now I'll get this fic started in the right direction._


	2. Chapter 2: The Maze

**Disclaimer: **see chapter 1.

**Author's Note: **This chapter is especially dedicated to Deana and Karone. I think you two will really enjoy it. You'll see what I mean soon. I see that just about all my friends have made it to the sequel. That's cool. I'm glad I didn't lose anyone.

manveri mirkiel: Haven't you ever done something really stupid, because you were so happy you really weren't paying attention. I know I have. And as I said before Atavus is not perfect.

Well the Nazgul made him wish he were dead. How do you think he learned all the great torture techniques? And whom do you think the Witch King practices on when he doesn't have any humans, elves, or dwarfs to pick on? Darn I don't want to make you feel sorry for Uglúk again. But lets face it the Nazgul would torture anything that ticked it off.

And yes you can have the oatmeal raisin cookies. I'll stick to my nasty sugar free stuff.

Karone Evertree: Read on, you'll love me.

Slayer3: Not fair. I haven't seen the trailer for Kingdom of Heaven yet.

Invisigoth3: There's always must be that one antagonist who just refuses to die, doesn't there? Oh well Uglúk makes such a good bad guy. I'm actually getting sort of attached to him. The interplay between him and Atavus is fun to write.

I know this is a short chapter, but it's packed with emotion. So hold on tight.

**The Maze**

"These tunnels are as bad a maze. I thought we would just have to check out each individual cave." They hadn't realized that the caves all connected together, and that there were miles and miles of tunnels dug into the earth. The orcs had been busy creating the cave system, in only a few months time.

They had stopped for a few moments rest after searching the caves for several hours. They were in a large room that had several openings leading in all different directions.

"It will do you no good. You will never find your friend." A deep voice was heard echoing through the tunnels. It seemed to come from several different directions. The two friends looked at each other astonished.

"I know that voice." Atavus said horrified.

"I do too." Estel frowned, realizing just how much trouble they were in.

"I should have let you go after him, to make sure he died." Atavus said as she felt the guilt well up inside her. "Why was I so stupid?"

"No. Don't think that way. We have to hold together if we are to find Legolas. Don't let him win." Estel said shaking her when he got no answer.

"Your right." She said sighing deeply, then calling out louder so the orc could hear her. "Uglúk. How's your chest. Does it still hurt?" She taunted.

"That's not exactly what I meant." Estel whispered shaking his head.

"Don't worry. He knows this game." She smiled. "Listen."

"It's just fine, and your ribs?" The deep voice countered.

"Healed within a day, as you should already know. Why don't you come see for yourself?" She wanted to draw the creature to them. It was time this old fight was finished.

"No, no I don't think so. I want to play a new game, and your elf friend will come in quite handy for this game." The orc called almost merrily, if that could be said of an orc's voice.

"What kind of game?" Atavus asked afraid to hear what evil torments he might subject their friend to.

"You'll see. You'll see. Or maybe I should say hear." After that statement the orc would say nothing else, no matter how much she called to him.

"We have to find him." She said desperately. "What you saw that creature do a few months ago was just a fraction of the evil he can do. He's almost as good at torture as the Witch King is."

"We will find him." Estel assured her as he set off down one of the tunnels.

* * *

Uglúk entered the chamber that he was holding Legolas in. "Your friends have come. They are becoming thoroughly lost in my tunnels, I'm afraid. At the rate they are going it will take them a fortnight to find you." The orc approached him holding something very sinister looking in his hand. "But until then, I will play with you."

Legolas said nothing as the creature drew nearer. It was holding what at first seemed to be a whip, but upon closer inspection he could see that there were pieces of metal attached to the leather straps. Probably the same metal that was inside his harness.

All sounds were amplified in the tunnels, but the echoes distorted the sounds, and made them seem to come from all directions. They heard the crack of the whip as Uglúk began his torture of the elf.

"No." Atavus cried out, turning in circles not knowing which way the sound came from.

She could see the pained look in Estel's eyes every time they heard the whip crack again and again. "We will find him." He vowed. Atavus followed wherever he lead. His time with the Rangers had given him a better perspective on directions, than she could ever hope to attain. She trusted him to find the way.

The torture continued for hours on end. The Nazgul had never allowed the orc to take the torture this far. But the orc didn't much care if he killed the elf. He just wanted to draw the others into his trap.

Legolas knew that his torture was in someway being used to draw his friends into the orcs trap, and that knowledge made the pain even worse. His body not only screamed in pain, but so did his heart. His chest, back and stomach were completely covered in long cuts, and angry welts. He could see his own blood pooling around his knees. He had been too weak to remain standing, and now was on his hands and knees trying to keep his face covered. If that whip were to strike him in the eyes, he would be blinded forever.

The orc had slowed his pace wanting to draw the torture out as long as possible. He knew the others could hear the whip crack, but it wasn't good enough. He had to cause as much mental torment as possible to the ones searching. He attached the whip to his belt and pulled a leather pouch from inside a pocket. "Isn't it funny how something so simple can cause a world of hurt if used in the proper way?" Legolas looked up at the words. He could see the creature withdraw his hand from the pouch, but could not see what was in it.

The orc came forward placing a brutal kick to the elf's ribs, sending Legolas to the floor on his side. He felt as if he could not breath. He was surprised to see the orc kneel beside him, and place his hand over one of the cuts on his chest. But his eyes grew wide when the cut that the orc's hand laid upon flared as if on fire. The orc pushed his hand into the cut rubbing a white crystalline substance in. Legolas struggled, but that only brought more pain. The orc continued the treatment on every cut he could reach. He finally got what he was hoping for as the elf screamed from the fire that was consuming his body.

* * *

The searching friends became worried when the tunnels around them became silent. But the silence did not last as they heard the first of the screams. "By the Valar, no." Estel whispered. He knew how much pain it would take to make his friend scream.

He looked to Atavus, but was surprised to see that her eyes held a distant look. He knew what she was remembering. She was remembering how the orcs had tortured her best friend at Minas Morgul. She was remembering the screams. "Stop Uglúk." She screamed at the top of her lungs. "Take me. You want me, I'm yours. Just let him go."

"No Atavus. Legolas would not want that." Estel said grasping her arm and turning her toward him.

The tears were flowing freely down her cheeks. "I don't care what he wants. It is the right thing. This is my fight. Not yours, and not his. That creature would have never been slightly interested in you the two of you, if I wasn't here. Legolas is in torment, because of me, and I mean to stop it." She stalked ahead her shoulders set determinedly, screaming out to the orc over and over again. "Uglúk, do you hear me? I said I would turn myself over to you freely if you let him go. You can have what you want the most. Don't you want your favorite plaything back?"

The orc had paused when he heard her voice. He began to laugh evilly.

Legolas had also heard her words. "No, Atavus." He said barely above a whisper. He knew the orc would not free him, even if he did get her.

"Don't worry. You will have company soon." He stopped his torture then, to sit and relax waiting for them to come to him. He was sure from the pitch of her voice that they were closer than he thought they could have gotten by then. But that was fine. The sooner they found their destination, the sooner he could have his revenge.


	3. Chapter 3: Unbroken

**Disclaimer: **If you want to give them to me I'll take them, otherwise see chapter 1.

**Review Responses: **

_Invisigoth3_: Don't tell Legolas, but I love caves. So I'm afraid in my fics, he might get subjected to them a lot. You know I'm torn between hating Uglúk, and liking him. I think maybe he's my own evil side coming out. If I get bent out of shape in my own life I just go and make him even meaner, and crueler. Unfortunately for our three friends, I had a really bad day today, and I'm getting a cold. (Hey manveri you got any of those tissues left.)

_Manveri mirkiel_: I'm glad, and I promise before he is finally gone you will hate him ten times more.

_Deana, Karone Evertree, and Slayer3_: you all get to comfort leggy for a little bit, but don't get too attached. I need him for the rest of the story. You know I like this. You're all mad at the orc, and no one has threatened my life recently. Just remember it's all the orcs fault. I'm just the harmless orc possessed evilly morbid writer. I have no choice. The orc made me do it.

_Robyn:_ Why yes Robyn I do like torturing Legolas. But it's only because I love him. Did I mention my new nickname was Evilly Morbid Writer? (Thank you for that manveri)

**Author's Note: **The title of this chapter and the partial song do not belong to me. They belong to Tim McGraw and Curb Records. I know it is meant as a love song, but I am using it in the context of the type of love that comes with friendship, and yes I did change one word in the song to make it fit that context. Hey I'm not making any money off of it, so I don't think they'll mind me changing it.

**Unbroken**

_If I lived and breathed before you loved me, I don't recall  
If I walked around at all, it was in bits and pieces  
Of a jagged heart  
You held me and every piece went back in place, every pain got erased  
You held me up to the sunlight,  
now it feels like,_

_No one ever left me out in the rain  
Cold words still remain unspoken  
And I never got lost, spent years in the dark  
You're here, now my heart's unbroken  
When I see your smile fill my soul again  
I'm unbroken_

_By: Tim Mcgraw_

They had stopped again, after several hours of silence, as Estel searched for clues as to which way would lead them closest to where Legolas was being held. He knew he would have to have a talk with Atavus. "Atavus, you must not do this. You are playing into that monster's hands. Don't you see it?" Estel tried to reason with her.

"Yes I see that, but what do you expect me to do?" She had a look in her eyes that spoke of utter hopelessness. Her despair would let her see no other choices.

Estel knew if it had been just him searching for Legolas he would be making the same reckless choices that she was. It seemed strange to him that he had to be the voice of reason for once. Normally that would be Legolas' place, but he had learned recently that Atavus was even more reckless than he was. That worried him. And for the first time in his life he found himself looking at things the way that Legolas would have. He knew he would have to find a way to get Legolas out of the clutches of the orc. But he would also have to find a way to keep Atavus from doing anything rash.

"First you need to have faith in our friend's ability to overcome this, and then you need to have faith in our own ability to save him. You are assuming that that creature has already won. You are giving up, and that's not the Atavus I know." He tried to bolster her courage. He needed her to be strong, so they could get through this ordeal.

"Estel the Atavus you know is safe at home in Rivendell, spending nights by the fire laughing and joking with her family and friends. The Atavus you see before you is the one who has taken years of hardship and torture, trying to always be strong. But she has taken enough. She can't watch in stony silence any more as her most precious friends are tortured because of her. She is almost _broken_. It will take very little for her to slip over the edge into a void where she may not come back. I'm sorry mellon-nin. I'm useless to you the way I am now. The only use I can see for myself anymore is a bargaining chip." She paused for a moment knowing he would hate the idea of her next words. She could not look him in the eye as she spoke them.

"I know Legolas means more to you than anything in this world. His life is worth more than mine. You need to use me to get him back, and then you need to forget about me. That is the only way you can win this Estel." She knew it would go against everything he believed in, but for Legolas she would have to try.

Estel looked at her in utter shock. "Are you saying you want me to trade you for Legolas, and then just leave you here with that thing, and then just forget you ever existed?"

She nodded, still not facing him.

He strode over to where she was standing, and almost roughly took her chin in his hand as he pulled her face up to look her in the eyes. "You told us once that you were not a coward, well neither am I. That is the most cowardly thing you could ever ask me to do. I will not trade one friends life for another, and it disgusts me that you could even suggest I do so." He had not meant his words to come out so harsh, but his own emotions were raw.

"Estel if Legolas dies in these tunnels, I will not be able to go on. I would rather spend a million years of torture, then to spend five seconds with the knowledge that he died because of me, and that maybe I could have prevented it." He understood the pain he saw in her eyes, and the heartache he heard in her voice. It was the same as his own feelings.

He pulled her trembling form to him, and whispered in her ear. "We will not lose him, and we will not lose each other. If you become broken we will make you anew, and you will become unbroken. I will not let you slip into that void. I will not lose either of you. We will all three leave this horrid place, and we shall all three sit by a fire in Rivendell together, and laugh, and joke, and be ourselves once again. This I promise you."

She held onto his words, praying that they be true. She pulled away from him and whispered. "Estel you truly are hope."

He could see that her courage was renewed. She would fight to the very end by his side to save their friend, and he knew they might have to do just that.

* * *

They walked on for a short time longer when they heard that same deep voice. "You are getting closer, but will there be a light at the end of the tunnel?"

Estel could hear Atavus mutter under her breath. "Shut up, pig." This brought a smile to his face.

The orc greatly enjoyed taunting the friends. "Hey throwback, I heard them call you Atavus. Is that your name now? What does it mean?" She snorted in answer.

He continued on. "Can I call you Atavus? We are going to become so close. After we get rid of your friends we can have nice long talks, and play all kinds of cool games."

She could hold her rage no more. "I've got a new game for you Uglúk. It's called 'Kill the orc.' You ready to give it a whirl?"

"No doesn't sound so good. How about this one? It's called 'Beat the Elf.' See if you can recall how it goes." With those words the orc stood and dug the toe of his boot into one of the many inflamed cuts on Legolas' stomach. They could hear the moans of pain barreling through the tunnels around them.

Atavus almost screamed, but Estel noticed something. The timing of the echoes had given away some precious information. He took her hand and placed one finger to her lips as he pointed in the direction that he was sure the sounds were coming from. He whispered to her. "I hate this, but he has to keep making noise. Keep him talking. We are almost there."

She nodded then asked the only question she was dieing to find the answer to. "Uglúk I know I asked you this once before, but your answer was quite unclear. Why do you hate my kind so much more than other races?"

The orc paused for a moment. He couldn't believe his good luck. What he had planned to tell her would send her over the edge for sure. She was afraid for a moment that he would say no more. "That my friend is a long story. Oh but you have time." He chuckled as if he had made a great joke. "First you must learn a few things about orcs, and how they live, and how they raise their young."

"Is he serious?" She asked to no one in particular.

The orc continued talking. "When a mating pair of orcs have a child, the child is raised by the mother until old enough to fulfill its purpose. The purpose of a female orc is to breed. The purpose of a male orc is to fight."

"Sounds simple." She shrugged her shoulders when Estel looked questioningly.

"The female orc who gave birth to me, also gave birth to another at the same time."

"Great twins." She said not wanting to see another orc like him ever.

"No, not twins. We were nothing alike. To tell the truth, he was like you." The orc sprung his surprise.

Atavus looked at Estel again. The orc had a throwback for a brother. But something caught her attention. "You said he was. What happened to him?"

The orc laughed evilly. "Why I killed it of course."

Atavus just closed her eyes and shook her head. "How could you kill your own brother?"

"It was rather easy actually. That orc that birthed me decided she wanted to keep it. You see we were not at Minas Morgul yet. We lived in one of the encampments in Mordor, so no real punishment was served out to her, or it for that matter. So when I became of age to join the males in training, I decided it was time to do something about it. I came back and slit its throat. She made a fool of herself. She and I were scorned, because of that thing she kept like a pet. That among other reasons is why I have vowed to kill all of you, very painfully." It said almost vaguely.

"What other reasons?" She asked.

"You will see soon enough. You are almost here."

And sure enough, as they rounded the next corner, they could see candlelight reflecting off the tunnel walls, and at the end of the tunnel was a room. That is where the light came from. "It is now or never." Estel said motioning to the arched doorway cut from the wall.

"Let's get our friend back." She whispered. They nodded to each other and walked through the archway. Atavus gasped at the scene before them. Legolas was lying on the floor with the orc kneeling behind him holding a knife to his neck. They both could see the dried blood covering his entire torso. His eyes were closed, but they could hear his labored breathing. He was in desperate need of attention.

"Let him go." Estel yelled stepping towards his fallen friend.

"No I think not. If I let him go now, I'll have to kill him." The orc answered.

"Then let's trade." Atavus suggested. She knew it wasn't what Estel wanted to do, but she could tell by the way Legolas looked that he could take little more. "You give the elf to him, and get me instead."

"Atavus, no." Estel growled.

She had to take the gamble that once Estel got Legolas to safety he would be able to save her also. "We have to Estel. It's the only way for the three of us to all stay alive." She turned to Estel, away from the orc and winked her eye. "I remember what you promised me. I will always remember. It will be as you said. We have to do this, for Legolas."

Estel had seen the wink and had understood her words. But he would have to leave her there for at least an entire day, maybe more depending on how serious Legolas' injuries were. If they were too serious he would have to continue on to Rivendell, which was another three days walk, and he was very afraid of how serious they were.

The orc stared at her wondering if it was a trap of her own. But the temptation was too much for him. "Come here girl." He motioned to Atavus. She slowly made her way to his side. He then switched his blade to her throat instead of Legolas', and then moved her to the far side of the room. "Take him, and get out. Don't come back to my tunnels again."

Atavus could not believe that he had fell for it, but she thanked the Valar that Legolas would now be safe. She was beginning to think that this orc was even more insane than most orcs. Orcs who killed just to be killing, she could understand, but orcs who killed for a real reason such as jealousy and revenge, just was unheard of.

Estel made his way to Legolas, not lowering his weapon one iota. He managed to remove the harness, and chains that held his friend, showing him how much damage his friend had taken. Atavus was right. If Legolas did not receive medical assistance soon he would not make it. He bent and shouldered the light weight of the elf, still keeping his attention on the orc. He looked to Atavus one last time. "I will keep my promise, mellon-nin. I swear it to you. " Then he backed out of the room.

He could see the words that she mouthed. "_Im garo estel." _She had hope and would not give in.


	4. Chapter 4: Devastating News

**Disclaimer: See chap. 1.**

**Review Responses:**

_manveri mirkiel: _Orc, what orc? I don't see an orc. Oh that one. (Looking into mirror.)

Poor Atavus has almost had all she can take, but there is so much more to learn. At least by the end of the last chapter she was holding on, but by the end of this one she may not be so confident. Uglúk did say that there was another reason for hating her.

Well in Blood it was Legolas that always comforted Atavus, and I didn't want anyone to think I was being biased toward a certain to die for elf. There is a reason why Leggy is the one who is being tortured. Since Estel is a healer he can take care of Legolas easier than if it was the other way around, and because I always torture the character I love the most. Shhhhhhh.

Yes Uglúk killed his own brother. I told you, you could hate him more. And about his mother I knew I forgot something. I went back and changed that. She was not killed because they were not in Minas Morgul. The Nazgul wasn't there to order her death. They actually were living in an orc encampment somewhere in Mordor. But even though they weren't killed her and both children were treated pretty poorly by the other orcs, because of her choice.

By the way you will never be able to hide Pippin from me completely. When I'm ready for him, I'll find him.

_Slayer3:_ Making point to find that trailer for Kingdom of Heaven today. (Says sticking tongue out at Slayer)

_Karone Evertree: _I think we would all like to play 'Kill the orc' at this point, but can't yet, I still need him.

**Author's Note: **Hmmm, how do I say this? In the last couple of days, I have been attacked by plot bunnies. So things might take some unexpected changes in the rest of the chapters. Just as a warning you might want to hold on to your hats. Some surprises to come. /…/ Denote elvish translations.

**Devastating News**

Estel moved through the tunnels cautiously. He did not know whether there were other orcs lurking in the shadows. He heard many noises but they seemed to come from a different part of the tunnels, then where he traveled. He had to carry Legolas over one shoulder so he could keep his sword arm ready just in case. The elf never woke as he traveled along the passages. It took only a few hours to find his way out of the tunnels, since he knew where he was going this time. After leaving the caves he moved a short distance away and then placed his friend on the ground, so he could treat the horrible wounds.

Estel washed the cuts clean, hoping that there would be no infection. He could see a white crystalline substance on his skin and in some of the cuts. When he realized that it was salt he knew why his friend had cried out. Though the substance would not harm his friend, it did cause severe pain in an open cut. He made sure to wash the salt out also. He was concerned at the fact that the elf did not wake at all as he treated the wounds. He feared that the blood loss and trauma from pain was too much to bring the elf back.

"_Legolas. Lasto mellon-nin, tolo dan nan galad. Im boe le an nin."_ / Legolas. Listen my friend, come back to the light. I need you with me. / He said brushing the elf's golden hair from his face. There was no response. "You need to help me decide what to do. I can't leave you here alone like this, but I promised Atavus that I would come back for her." Still no response.

Estel knew his friend was far from danger, and the only place he would really be safe would be Rivendell. His own body would have to heal the wounds that covered his chest, stomach and arms, and it would take time. But the walk to Rivendell would take at least three days. He looked to Legolas, then back to the cave entrance. It was an impossible decision, but one he would have to make on his own. But hadn't Atavus really already made it for him?

"I'm sorry Atavus. You'll just have to hold on for a few days. I will be back." He whispered hoping she could hold on that long.

* * *

"Drop your weapons to the floor." The orc commanded, still holding the knife to her throat.

She did as the orc asked. "So Uglúk, where are the rest of your soldiers? It seemed awful quite in the tunnels as we made our way here."

"They will be back. After they brought me your friend, I sent them out to find you." That was what Atavus had been hoping to find out. What the orc didn't know was that Estel and her had already dispatched his men. Her friends would have a clear path out of there. Now she just needed to stall him long enough to give them a decent head start.

"Hmm. I know you want to play some games, but can we finish the discussion we started earlier. What is your other reason for hating my kind?" The question startled the orc. He wanted to reveal his last secret, but had planned on waiting until she was weak from torture to do so. She could feel the pressure from the knife at her throat slacken as he tried to decide what to say. That was the opportunity she needed.

She reached up with one hand sliding under his, pulling the knife away from her throat. Then bent and with the other hand grasped her dagger out of it's ankle sheath, which he hadn't noticed was there. With lightning quick moves she spun around, and imbedded the dagger in his ribcage, but it wasn't enough to stop the beast. In the next moment he pulled his own knife hand free, and sliced down cutting a deep slash across her shoulder. Atavus pulled back, but was unable to retrieve her knife from his ribs.

Uglúk reached down and pulled the knife from his own ribs. He then held both knives, and she was unarmed. She had wanted to pierce his lung, but his breathing was not affected.

"Yet again you miss the mark Throwback." He smiled edging closer to where she stood in a defensive posture.

"I won't miss again." She vowed. She began to circle the room keeping out of his reach as best as possible. But she could tell he was just playing with her. His blows were not aimed to kill.

He ducked in closer seeing she was too close to the wall to back up, then slashed from side to side laying a shallow cut across her ribs. She knew he could have finished her then, but did not. She grasped her ribs feigning more pain than was actually true, then dropped to the floor. He pushed his way closer, but at that moment she used her leg to swipe his out from under him.

She was close to the door. She saw her chance then, and took it. She scrambled out the door looking back to make sure he'd follow her. He did. She turned to the left using a different tunnel than the one Estel had taken. She would draw the orc away from them then find her own way out. She could hear his heavy steps as they followed her.

She traveled for many hours, but it seemed as if she went deeper into the mountain instead of heading out. She stopped to rest for a moment, knowing the orc was quite a distance behind her, and didn't seem in too much of a hurry to catch up to her. "You know Atavus, you're going to be quite tired when you come to this tunnel's dead end."

"You lie." She called out then continued on, but sure enough after a few hundred feet further the tunnel did dead end. She kicked the wall in disgust, uttering quite a few dwarvish curses.

She turned looking back the way she came, and leaned against the wall. If she were going to have to fight her way out she would need to conserve her strength. The tunnel was no wider than three feet, so she knew it would be hard to fight in the small space.

After several moments she could see him coming. She noticed that he no longer held the knives, but instead had a whip in one hand and a wooden club in the other. Her knife was attached to his belt. She could tell it was hers. The handle had intricate elvish words engraved in it. It had been a present from Legolas. This would be fun, she thought to herself. If only she could reach her knife, she would have a chance.

But that was not to be. He rushed her landing the club in her stomach. She had tried to deflect the blow, but he had more strength than she did. She did double over in pain this time. She soon learned that, that was exactly as he intended, as she felt the first lash of the whip across her back. He had thrown the club behind himself. If she could reach that club, just maybe…. She tried to scramble by his legs, but was kicked back towards the dead end. She hit hard against the dirt wall.

He then resumed with the whip seeing that she was even further winded. She still made no noise, as he brought the whip down on her back again and again. She tried several times to get by him, but earned a kick every time. She soon became too weak to try as more and more blood trickled down her back. He didn't stop until she collapsed to the floor.

Then he kneeled beside her. He pulled her hair back so he could see her face. It was hard to tell what was dirt smudges, and what were bruises. "Are you ready to listen to what I have to say now?"

She did not answer him. She peered up at him with a look of disgust on her face, and then looked down again. "Good. You wanted to know why I hate your race so much. Well guess what, it's not your race I hate, but you in particular." Atavus could not guess why that was so, but she still kept silent, willing the pain in her body to go away.

"I'm going to tell you why now. You see I told you about my brother, but what I didn't tell you is that several years later, after our encampment was moved to Minas Morgul she dared to have another child. It was just the same as the other, except it was a girl. They killed my mother, which meant no difference to me really. She was weak and stupid, but they gave the girl child to the slaves to raise." He had pulled her face up to watch as he said the words.

Atavus was thinking slowly because of the damage that he had caused, and he could see the confused look on her face. "Your as stupid as she was. Don't you see, that girl child was you? But the Nazgul would not allow me to kill you."

She heard his words, but refused to believe him. She shook her head violently knocking his hand from her chin. "No." She screamed.

"You can deny it all you want, but it is true." He watched her enjoying the mental torture as much as the physical.

Living with the elves and studying under Lord Elrond, had given her the ability to hear a lie for what it was, and she could hear no lie in his words. She turned her face to the dirt floor, silently screaming in her head. How could the Valar do this to her? What had she done to deserve it? She had always known that her parents had been orcs, but it had never seemed real; until she was forced to look a member of her own blood in the eyes. She had never felt more disgusted, about her own identity than she did that moment. Though they looked different, her and the orc were actually the same. No she did not have his vindictive, perverse nature. But if she had been raised the same as he she might have. But there was something she had gotten from her orc blood, something that was quite like the orcs. That was her temper, her anger, and her rage. She could feel her blood start to boil, as her anger increased. Yes the orc beside her was her brother, but he had killed her other brother. The one person who could truly understand what it was like to be what she was, was gone, and nothing she did could bring him back, but she would have revenge.

She looked back towards him and could see he was gloating over her pain. That's when she decided to strike. She pushed the physical pain away and concentrated on the mental anguish that was feeding her anger. She sprung up from where she was lying, springing towards his kneeling form. She knocked him off balance, landing on top of him. Her hand landed on the knife attached to his belt. She pulled the knife and with faster than lightning moves buried it in his ribs on the opposite side of where she had stabbed before. This time though she was pleased to see blood trickle from the corner of his mouth as he coughed. "Your dieing orc. How does it feel?" She taunted.

"Horrible freak. But you just showed me that your more like an orc than you thought." He said coughing more, not trying to push her off of him.

"How's that?" She asked, confusion crossing her face again.

He held up his hands. They were empty. She hadn't seen him drop the whip. "You just killed an unarmed foe. That makes you a murderer. That makes you one of us."

She pushed herself up, looking down at the orc. He could see the strange look on her face. It almost looked like regret. "I'll never be like you." She whispered then took off down the tunnel not looking back.

* * *

_Author's Note: Well should I duck now or later. Did anyone see that comeing? So manveri, are you sure you don't hate Ugluk just a little bit more?_


	5. Chapter 5: Unexpected Help

**Disclaimer: chapter 1 please.**

**Review Responses: **

_Slayer3_: I'm trying to watch the trailer, but QuickTime doesn't run to quick on my pc. If I weren't afraid of messing it up and not being able to update I'd kick the stupid machine. Yes Uglúk is evil.

_Deana_: Here's 5. Is that quick enough?

_Karone_ _Evertree_: Yeah I know Atavus was beginning to lose it there for a while, but thanks to Estel, she's back on track, and kicking butt. Actually I have to give credit where it is do. The idea for Uglúk to be her brother was my husbands. He suggested it last month when I was writing Blood, but I didn't like it at the time. It disgusted me too much. But after some careful thought, and severe plot bunny attacks it seemed to fall into place. So poor Atavus is stuck with a lying, murdering orc brother, who doesn't seem to ever die. (Oops I wasn't supposed to say that yet.)

**Unexpected Help**

Estel had traveled for a day and a half, only stopping to give Legolas water from time to time. He still had not gained consciousness, which greatly worried the Ranger. No matter how often he called to him there was no response.

He was just entering the forests surrounding Rivendell when he came across a clearing that had a small steam running through it. He stopped there for a short while placing his friend on the forest floor and using his own cloak as a pillow to support his head. His arms were becoming quite sore from carrying the elf. True elves were much lighter than humans, but his arms had been in the same position for many, many hours. He bent to the stream to refill their water skins. His mind was in complete turmoil. Legolas was in bad shape, and he had no idea whether Atavus was even alive or not. He was so lost in his thoughts that he did not notice the light foot steps come up behind him, until he had a knife at his throat. He froze, trying to formulate a plan in his muddled mind.

"It is not often that we can sneak up on him like this. His mind must be quite far away." He heard a familiar voice, and let out a deep sigh. As the knife was drawn away he turned to see Elladan standing behind him with a smug look on his face.

The tired haggard look of his brother's face wiped the smug look away. "What is it Estel? What has happened?" He said kneeling beside his brother. Elrohir kneeled also noticing the concern in his twin's voice.

Estel leaned into his brother, and for the first time in a long time let his emotions out. He cried like he had when he was a small child, needing comfort. "It's okay Estel. You are here with us. Where are Legolas and Atavus?" He said looking around the clearing and for the first time noticed the elf who was several feet away from them lying on the forest floor.

Estel pulled away wiping the tears away. He hadn't broke down like that since he was a child, but his hopeless situation had taken such a hard toll on him. They stood and crossed to where Legolas was. "He is alive, but unconscious." Estel said showing the twins the wounds that covered his body.

"Who did this?" Elladan growled in anger. "And where is Atavus?"

"Uglúk the orc. He had a trap set for us. He captured Legolas, and did this to him before we could find him." Estel said kneeling to give Legolas some more of the water, watching to make sure his throat still swallowed the water.

"The orc who tortured us at Dol Guldur." Elrohir asked in astonishment. "I thought Atavus killed him."

"So did we. He has a special grudge against Atavus, and her kind. He had a brother who was like her. He said he killed him." Estel paused not being able to say the words that haunted his soul.

"But Atavus." Elrohir said wondering if the creature had killed her and Estel did not want to say it.

"She traded herself to him as a prisoner, to gain Legolas' freedom." Estel said looking to the ground, and then finished with the words he hated to say. "I had to leave her there, to bring Legolas to Rivendell." They were said and he felt the most guilt he had ever felt in his life.

Elladan stared at his brother. He could see how his soul was torn in two at the moment. It was a decision that would be hard for the strongest of beings to make. "Estel when you left was she injured?"

"No just Legolas."

"And you thought that Legolas might die if you did not leave?" Elladan asked.

"He might still. I cannot bring him out of this state he is in. Nothing will wake him. I was hoping Ada would know what to do." Estel answered.

"You did what you had to Estel. Atavus made a sacrifice for Legolas. If you did not get him to safety, her sacrifice would be for nothing. She knew that Estel. She wanted that." Elladan said trying to comfort his brother.

Estel nodded his head and stood to his feet, knowing his brother was right. "We must hurry and get Legolas to Ada. Then I must go back. I promised her I would come for her. Hopefully it is not too late."

The twins had their horses with them. They each took one of the two friends on the horses and made for home as fast a possible.

* * *

Atavus wandered slowly through the tunnels. She had lost more blood than she had originally thought. Her body was threatening to shut down on her. She thought to herself 'Just put one foot in front of the other. It's easy. Don't stop to think of the pain. Don't stop to think of the horrible things you now know. Just put one foot in front of the other.' And that is what she did until she reached the mouth of the cave. It was nighttime when she left the cave. She wandered a little farther away from the cave entrance and found a grassy spot to lie down in. She rolled on her back looking to the millions of stars in the heavens.

She was free, but her heart was heavy and the sight of the Star of Eärendil, which normally brought her hope, only mocked her now. No matter what she looked like she was not an elf, and would never be one. She would not eventually sail across the sea to the Undying Lands, as her loved ones surely would. She would not die, and find herself in the Halls of Mandos. She would either go on forever, as she eventually learned to hate life, or die and just cease to exist.

She also thought of her orc brother. He was not right. She was not like him, but she was not like the elves either. She was something that really had no place in this world. That thought brought much sorrow to her, and the tears began to fall. Finally her body's need for rest took her, as she fell asleep with her eyes closed.

Something woke her and her body suddenly tensed. Her eyes were still closed, but she could tell that morning had come from the feel of sunlight on her face. The feel of sunlight was suddenly blocked as something foul crouched over her. She could hear sniffing noises. She slid her eyes open just far enough to see the monstrous warg kneeling above her, its face but mere inches from hers. She had left all her weapons in the tunnels. The beast smelled her once more then made a loud growling noise in the back of its throat. It wasn't sure whether to attack or not. It could smell orc blood, which it knew belonged to the ones who commanded it, but it could also smell elf blood, which was its favorite meal. Hunger overcame it, as dipped it's mouth down aiming for its victims throat.

"No." She screamed raising her arm to shield her throat. The creature was startled at the sound, but clamped down on the arm anyway. Atavus screamed with the pain, as she started to kick at the beast that held her down.

She knew unarmed and caught unawares as she had been, she was surely going to die, but was surprised when the beast let go of her arm. She could see the cloudy look in the creature's eyes, as it rolled off of her. She could see a small dagger with elvish script engraved on the handle, imbedded in the base of the creature's neck. It was her dagger, but she had left it back in the tunnel embedded in the ribcage of the orc.

She looked in the direction of the cave mouth and saw the orc standing there holding his ribs where she had stabbed him. He had thrown the knife with expert aim as he killed the warg. She groaned loudly. She was in too much pain to stand and fight him, but she knew she would have to. "Damn you to the void Uglúk, can't you just kill me or die yourself? I'm too tired to do this anymore." She pushed herself up on her elbows, reaching over with her left arm and pulling the dagger from the warg's neck. Her right arm was useless now after being chewed on by the beast.

She looked to the orc expecting it to rush her, but was shocked to see him collapse to the ground landing on his bottom. He just sat there, looking as tired as she felt. "I'm too tired to kill you, and I might just die after all." He said coughing up more blood.

"Then why in the world did you just kill that warg? It was going to do the job for you." She asked also sitting up, as she shook her head in confusion.

He looked at her for a moment not sure what to say. "Because I guess if anything is going to kill you, I want it to be me."

She made a snorting noise, and then laughed without humor. "Well I am getting up and leaving here. I can see that you are in no shape to follow me. But I promise that I won't let anyone else, but you, kill me okay?"

"You aren't going to finish what you started? I am unarmed and you have a dagger in your hand." He asked looking down at the blood flowing between his fingers where he held his ribs.

"As you said, you are unarmed. And no matter what you say I am no murderer. You have a chance to survive if you take care of yourself, but if you don't it's your own fault." She didn't really believe by the looks of him that he would survive no matter what. . But she wasn't going to become one of them, just to claim revenge. Her anger had left her, and she was just plain exhausted. She then stood and left the orc behind, wishing she could leave her pain filled heart behind also.

As she traveled she remembered her thoughts from the night before. She had to accept the fact that no matter how hard she wished she were an elf, she was not. She wasn't even really an orc. There was no other real name for her kind except the one she had been labeled with as a child. She was throwback. She knew of no other living one of her kind. No one would ever be able to understand what it was to be what she was. She wondered if she should even go back to Rivendell. Was it really right for her kind to be there? She did not know the answer.

But then her thoughts turned to her friends. Whether they understood her or not, they accepted her, and they loved her. That was something she had never hoped for in all of her years in Mordor. Rivendell and its people had become her family and friends, and whether or not she belonged there, it was where she wanted to be the most. She just hoped that it would still feel like home.

_

* * *

Author's Note: Well there are about two more chapters, and then this one will be wrapped up. Then it's on to the sequel, which is mapped out in my head, but I don't have a title for it yet. (Go figure.)_


	6. Chapter 6: It's In the Eyes

**Disclaimer: see chapter 1.**

**Review Responses: **

_Slayer3_: What's bad is this is a brand new computer, which has all the bells and whistles. Less than 3 months old. I'll have to wait till they start the commercials on T.V. But that will be hard since I don't even watch T.V.

_Karone_ _Evertree_: Well as I said before the idea disgusted me at first, but then the plot bunnies got me, so yep. Yeah well I see Uglúk as feeling like he can hurt her, but no one else can. Almost possessive in a way. Maybe that sounds weird. I don't know. You decide.

_manveri_ _mirkiel_: Please don't kill my orc yet. I still need him. I'm sorry, but the throwback brother had to die to show how twisted Uglúk really is. But in a way it also shows that he is not exactly like the other orcs either. He doesn't only kill just because he's told to. He kills for his own reasons too. Or chooses not to kill for that matter.

I'll warn you, don't touch my plot bunnies. They bite if provoked.

There is so much more to the story of Atavus, that if you did find me and did convince me to tell you the rest we would be talking for days. But anyway I am certainly glad that you like her. In my lifetime I have probably written over 100 fics, most of which no one will ever see, but out of all my characters I like Atavus the best, and it pleases me that others like her too. By the way she loves hugs too. (And boy is she gonna need them)

**It's In the Eyes**

"Ada, what do you think?" Estel asked watching his friend as his father examined him.

"His injuries are healing Estel. I think the blood loss was quite staggering though, and that is why he has not so far awakened. I do believe he will soon though. Now for you my son." Lord Elrond turned to his son with worried eyes.

"Ada, I cannot stay. I have to go back for Atavus. I promised her." Estel stated pulling away from his father.

"It has been days since you slept _ion-nin. _Please at least rest until morning. It is the darkest part of night now. In the morning, you and your brothers, will go retrieve Atavus, and then our family will be whole again." Estel did not miss the word 'family'. Yes Lord Elrond had accepted Atavus as one of their own. "Do not fear for her Estel. I feel she will be safe."

"Have you had a vision?" Estel hoped it was so.

"No, it is but a feeling, but a strong one." Elrond answered smiling at his son. He then led the man to the next chamber through the connecting door. His room was ready as it always was when he came home. He wanted to leave immediately to help Atavus, but his father's words had given him courage, and he had to admit that his eyes would not stay open for much longer. If only he was born an elf, he could have withstood the many days without sleep.

He did not waste time undressing and sunk down in the bed as he was, drifting into sleep as soon as his head landed on the pillow. Lord Elrond looked up and saw his twin sons watching from the doorway. "You slipped a sleeping herb into the drink you gave him when we arrived, didn't you?" Elrohir asked.

"He needs sleep. I want Atavus back as much as he does, but he won't bring her back if he gets himself killed, because he's suffering from exhaustion." Lord Elrond answered leaving the room with his sons following him.

"And Legolas?" Elladan asked.

"I am sure he will be awake by morning. Will one of you sit with him tonight? I don't want him to wake up and be confused. I'm sure the last thing he remembers is being tortured by the orc. He might panic as he awakens." Elrond was not sure how much mental damage the elf had sustained during the torture. Estel had told him of the screams he had heard. That was most unlike Legolas.

"I will sit with him." Elrohir volunteered.

"We both will." Elladan added.

"Just make sure he knows that he is safe." Elrond left his sons and continued on to his study.

He tried to think of Atavus, willing his mental vision to see her, but there was nothing there. Either she was blocking all intrusions on her mind, or she just wasn't there anymore. He hoped his first thought was the right one. He hadn't exactly lied when he told Estel that he thought she was safe. He was positive that he would feel it if she was in life threatening danger, but he did not feel anything.

* * *

She was walking through the outer edges of the forests surrounding Rivendell. It was morning again, and she had walked throughout the night, never stopping. She wanted so badly to be home. She wanted to see Lord Elrond as he scolded the twins for some mischief. She wanted to see Estel laughing at her as a dwarvish curse accidentally slipped her lips. She wanted to see Legolas. The last time she had seen him he had looked terrible. She wasn't even sure he was still alive. She laid that thought aside not wanting to dwell on the guilt and pain that accompanied it. 

She stopped in a clearing that a stream ran through, finally giving in to the need for water. As she bent over the stream, in a shallow place where the water was not moving, she could see her reflection in the water. What she saw worried her. It was the same face she had looked at many times. She was in need of a bath, she could tell. But what disturbed her were her eyes. Her eyes were normally an emerald green color. Her eyes had changed though. They were dark. Darker than the deepest forest green. They almost seemed black to her. She dipped her hands into the water and washed the dirt from her face, even going so far as to rinse her eyes. Then she looked again. Yes they were black. She remembered back to her orc brother's words, "you're more like an orc than you thought." Were his words true? She looked at the rest of her body. Nothing else seemed different.

But something was different. She unwrapped the cloth she had wound around the warg bite on her arm. The wound should have been healed by then, with her speeded healing abilities. It no longer bled, but it was still as angry and as red as when she had bound it. It even looked like it might be infected.

There was one more thing she knew she had to check. She pulled the elvish blade from her ankle sheath, and used it to make a small slit on her uninjured arm. She dropped the knife as she saw the blood begin to flow. Normally her blood was a much darker red than any elf, or human, but now it was almost black, with just a slight tinge of red to it.

"No." She whispered to herself placing her hands over her face, as the tears began to course down her cheeks. She sat there for a few moments, just letting the pain in her heart take her. When she finally pulled back her hands and looked back to the water she could see that her tears were also black.

_**

* * *

Author's Note:** I know I said this story was only going to be a couple of more chapters, but something manveri said sent a plot bunny my way, so it may end up a little bit longer. Yes manveri you are now an inspiration to my plot bunnies. Oh but what an evil inspiration you are. Sorry it was a short chapter, but I think it got across the point I was getting at. _


	7. Chapter 7: You Must Come Home

**Disclaimer: **They are all mine, mine, mine. Oops no, strike that, they are not mine, not mine, not mine. Sigh.

**Review responses: **

_Karone Evertree_: Blame manveri for the plot twist. Her review from chapter 4 did it. Yes our dear Atavus is turning into an orc, poor thing. In the next couple of chapters you will learn why. But for now we have to get the dear thing back to Rivendell, which might prove to be difficult.

And believe it or not I have found that a lot of people who abuse others think they have the right to. (Not from personal experience though, just an observation.)

_Slayer3_: Oh, oh I got to see the trailer for Kingdom of Heaven today. This piece of scrap finally let me view it. I watched both the Theatrical and the Extended version. That is going to be one awesome movie. I asked my husband to take me to see it. He got jealous and refused. I'll go by myself if I have to. Then again my sister-in-law pants for Orlando too.

_manveri mirkiel:_ Hugs, hugs, and more hugs for Atavus. She's gonna need them in the next couple of chapters. No he is not dead, and he will not die until his time. Sorry. Oh by the way your going to need more tissue with those hugs.

**You Must Come Home**

Estel stepped into Legolas' room, noticing first that Elrohir, and Elladan were both asleep in chairs on each side of the bed. Then he looked to the form on the bed. He was shocked to see Legolas' eyes were open and staring forward with a far off look in them. He was also propped up on the pillows.

"Legolas." He ventured not knowing whether the elf slept or not.

The sound of his friends voice brought him out of the daze that his thoughts had thrown him into. He looked quickly to Estel. "Where is Atavus?" The last thing he remembered was hearing her say that she would trade herself for him.

Estel looked down, not able to face his friend. "I left her." His voice broke as he said the words.

The strangled noise that left the elf's throat woke the twins. They both sat up embarrassed that they had fallen asleep as they were supposed to be watching Legolas. "What do you mean you left her?"

"I had to Legolas. We did not know if you would live. She traded herself to the orc for your release. I tried to stop her, but she would not hear of it. I promised to come back for her. My brothers and I leave in a short while to go back." Estel explained.

"I'm going with you." The prince stated pushing the covers back that covered his lower body, swinging his feet to the floor. As he stood though his legs collapsed from below him. Estel and Elrohir were there immediately pulling him up and onto the bed again.

"You are going nowhere, Prince Legolas." A strong voice came from the doorway. They all looked up seeing Lord Elrond. "You have lost too much blood. You will not make it down the hall, much less to the mountains."

"I can't just stay here in this bed, imagining what that beast is doing to her. I can't." Legolas said pounding the bed with his fist in desperation. "She traded her life for mine. How can I just ignore that?"

"You will not ignore it, _mellon-nin. _I promise to bring her back here, so you can tell her just how reckless her actions are, just as I did." Estel said placing a comforting hand on his friends shoulder.

"You did?" Legolas asked.

"In my own words, yes." He answered smiling at the elf.

"Now you know how I feel." Legolas returned the smile.

Estel walked to the door following his brothers and father out, but paused a moment to turn back to his friend. "I always have, _mellon-nin_."

Lord Elrond led them into his study. He did not want Legolas to hear what he had to say. "She is no longer in the mountains."

"What?" Estel asked shocked.

"Just after daybreak I had a vision." Lord Elrond looked out his balcony door. Very few could read his emotions, but three of those who could were in the room then.

"What is it Ada?" Elrohir asked hoping that the orc wasn't taking her to Mordor. "Where has he taken her?"

"He is no longer with her, but she is in danger, anyway." The Lord answered.

"What did you see?" Estel asked needing to know.

"She was in a clearing in the woods, next to a small brook. She was lying on the forest floor curled into herself. Her hands covered her face. She kept repeating the word No, over and over again. She is losing her grip on this life. I can feel it. She is willing herself to die, and if nothing stops her that is what will happen." Lord Elrond's words were filled with the grief of a father losing a child. He knew she wasn't his child, but it would hurt him just as much as if he lost one of his own.

"Father can she fade?" Elladan asked.

"Part of her blood is that of an elf Elladan. Yes I believe she can." Elrond answered.

"We must leave now. There hasn't been enough time for her to go back to Mirkwood. She must be in Imladris." Estel said leaving the study and heading out to the stables.

* * *

Atavus had been lying on the ground for how long she new not, and did not particularly care. The latest trick of her blood had betrayed her it seemed. There was nothing left for her here. There was nowhere else in middle-earth that she could belong. She had no will left to stand and move on to Rivendell, and there was nowhere else to go. So she stayed where she was. The tears had stopped. She looked above her at the tree branches. She had always loved the trees, but she knew that even they could no longer accept her as she was.

She did not hear the horses hoof beats drawing nearer to her. But she did hear Estel's voice as he slid from his horse making his way to her. "Atavus."

She turned away from him, not wanting him to see her eyes. "Go away Estel." She cried.

He was shocked to hear those words fall from her lips. "Why? What is wrong Atavus?" He said placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Please just leave me." Her voice was so soft it was barely audible.

"I left you once before. I won't do it again _mellon-nin_." He said trying to pull her to him.

She pulled away from him, scrambling to her knees. She stopped moving as she reached the stream she had looked into earlier. "Don't call me that." Her voice said full of tears.

"Why wouldn't I? You are my friend. One of the best I have." Estel asked walking up behind her. He could see her reflection in the water. Her hands were covering her face again. "Is this about Legolas. He is fine. We left him at my Ada's. He wants to see you badly."

The words soothed her aching heart some, but could not change her mind. "Tell him, tell him I'm sorry I could not come back to him." She said with a hint of finality in her words.

"Tell him yourself, when we go home." He said kneeling behind her wrapping his arms around her trembling shoulders.

"I have no home, Estel." She whispered.

"Yes you do. Rivendell is your home. We are your family." He said motioning to the two elves behind him that had stayed quiet, watching the exchange. "Why are you talking like this?"

She lowered her hands. "Because I have changed Estel. I am not fit to call you family or Rivendell home any longer." She opened her eyes, her black eyes, and stared at the reflection they made in the pool in front of him.

He also looked at the reflection, noticing immediately what she meant. He slowly pulled her around in his arms. She dropped her gaze to her hands in front of her. He placed one hand below her chin, pulling it up. He stared into the blackest eyes he had ever seen. The twins behind him also saw them. A gasp escaped Elrohir's mouth. "What has happened, Atavus?" Elladan asked moving to her side, as Elrohir moved to the other. They both kneeled before her as Estel did.

"I am becoming one of them." She said as the black tears began to flow down her cheeks again. "My blood is black. I no longer heal as I did before" She said ripping the cloth from her arm again, showing them the warg bite. "I got this yesterday morning. It is infected." She had never suffered from infection before.

"Atavus I don't know why this is happening to you. But we will find out why. Ada will help you. He is so worried about you." Estel said wiping the tears from her face.

She let him caress her cheek for a moment accepting the comfort it offered. But then pulled her face from his hand. "How can I?" She asked.

"Atavus this matters not to us. You are as a sister to us, and we want you to come home." Elladan said touching her cheek as Estel had the moment before.

"Atavus if you don't come home it will break Ada's heart. He sees you as his own also. Don't do this to us. Please come home." It was Elrohir this time taking her hand in his.

"Atavus, they are right. And think of what it would do to Legolas if you don't. He will blame himself for this. Please, you must come home." Estel begged.

She looked at the three brothers. She had come to love them as if they were her own brothers also. She closed her eyes and sighed deeply. "I will come with you."


	8. Chapter 8: Don't Turn Away

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1.

**Author's Note: **Tissue warning. This I do believe is the most heart-wrenching chapter I have written yet. At least I was crying when I wrote it, so just be warned.

**Review Responses: **

_Deana_: You thought leggy was upset in the last chapter, try this one.

_manveri_ _mirkiel_: Guilty isn't a strong enough word for it.

You think the plot line was insane, wait till you hear the cure. But I'm getting ahead of myself, that's not in this chapter.

And no, no, no you can't kill Uglúk yet. Remind me to make you a dartboard with his picture plastered on it so you can work out your aggression.

_Karone_ _Evertree_: Okay that's the first threat I've heard directed towards Elrond. But I can tell you will see anything but magic in the chapters ahead.

_Slayer3_: Yeah well I think he's gonna break down and take me to see it anyway. He just said that it was not nice for me to want him to take me to see a hot guy for my anniversary present. Man and they say women are touchy.

**Don't Turn Away**

Against Lord Elrond's better judgment Legolas had made his way out of bed and was sitting on the balcony just outside of the Lord's study. The balcony had the best vantage point for watching the path that entered Rivendell. The sun had set a short time before, but his elvin eyes still allowed him to see as if it was still daytime.

Lord Elrond had joined him a short time before, but had said nothing. "Lord Elrond, what is it you are not telling me?"

The Elf Lord wondered if his son's perceptive nature had begun to rub off on the Mirkwood Prince. He did not want to further trouble the young elf's already troubled mind so he remained silent.

"You fear for her. I can see it. Please don't leave me in the dark." Legolas pleaded.

Elrond sighed knowing the elf would not give up. "Something is very wrong with our Atavus. Something that has nothing to do with being held captive. I am not sure what it is. When I think of her all I see is shadow. My vision will not allow me to see clearly. I fear for her very soul."

The words stunned Legolas. He had been worried about if she was dead or alive, but he was sure that he would know it if she had died. On many occasions she had showed him just how strong she was at keeping her soul intact. She had been through so much hardship, but always her soul came through unscathed. Why now would things be different?

That was something that they would find out soon enough. Due to his strong connection to his friend, Legolas felt it first. Though to others it would feel like a brief chill, to him it was as if a strong cold frost had descended upon Rivendell. He looked up seeing the three brothers returning. He could see that Estel had a cloaked form bundled in front of him on his horse, his arm wrapped protectively around her. "They return." Lord Elrond helped him make his way to the front entrance. When the three horses stopped in the courtyard he sought out Estel's eyes, fear gripping his soul as he saw the utter despair written in them.

Elladan took Atavus from Estel's arms and set her lightly on her feet. She was wearing a cloak that was much too big for her. It looked like one of the twin's cloaks. They could not see her face. The only part of her that was visible was her hands. She did not move towards the two who were waiting for her. She stood waiting for Estel to join her on the ground. When he did he placed a hand on her waist nudging her forward. Legolas could see her hands start to tremble. She was afraid. He could stand it no longer. He made his way slowly to where she stood and wrapped his arms around her pulling her head to his chest. He immediately felt the cold that radiated from her body.

"You are freezing _mellon-nin_." He whispered.

He could hear the strangled noise she made deep in her throat at his words. She wanted to stay like that forever, bathed in the warmth he offered her, but the aching in her heart would not let her. She felt very keenly how wrong it felt to take the comfort of the elf. She felt unworthy of it.

"No. Please let go Legolas." She said louder than she intended. She pulled herself from his arms, and turned rushing back to Estel. It was easier with the human. She did not feel as unworthy for some reason. Maybe it was because the race of Elves seemed to be untouched by the corruption of evil, where Humans were often easily corrupted. She did not understand it herself. She just knew that when she touched the elves she felt distinctly wrong. She did not feel she had the right to even be in their presence.

If she could see his face it would have even further broken her heart. His expression was that of a faithful pup, whom its master had kicked. He could not hide his feelings of rejection.

Only Estel heard her whispered plea. "Don't let him see me like this. I cannot bare to see the look on his face." She remembered the look of disgust that was evident on his face the first time he learned of her orc blood. It had hurt then to see it, but now, after all they had been through together, she believed it would destroy her.

Estel could see the hurt look on Legolas' face. He knew his friend did not understand her reaction. He spoke so they both could hear him. "No Atavus, he must see. He will not reject you. Your friendship is too strong for that."

A look of confusion crossed Legolas' face. "Why would I reject her?"

Lord Elrond interrupted them then. "I think the rest of this discussion would be better continued inside in my study." Whatever the girl was hiding would probably be best revealed in privacy.

"Yes Ada, it would be." Elladan agreed trying to push them towards the house. He noticed the commotion had brought many elves closer to where they stood.

Lord Elrond again helped Legolas to his study seating him in a chair towards the side. He then motioned for Estel and Atavus to sit on a small couch facing his favorite chair. He took his own seat as Elrohir closed the door to prying ears. The twins remained standing protectively behind the couch where Estel was holding the shivering girl.

"Now Atavus please answer Legolas' question from outside." Elrond directed.

"Please, coming here was wrong. I must leave." She said trying to stand. She wasn't sure what the blood inside her was doing to her, but she felt crazed, like a caged animal.

"No Atavus. You must stay. If anyone can help you it is Ada." Estel ordered pulling her back to the couch.

"Atavus I can not help you if you turn away from us. You must be open with me. What do you hide from us now?" Elrond said reaching forward and taking one of her hands. He also felt the cold that Legolas had felt.

She flinched at his touch. He let go of her hand. She knew she would not get out of the room without revealing herself, but she felt so ashamed. A great sigh left her as she slowly reached up and pulled her hood back. Her eyes were closed. Neither Elrond nor Legolas could see anything out of place other than dark smudges on her cheeks.

Legolas was sitting close enough that he could reach out and touch her if he wanted, and he did. He cupped her cheek with one hand wiping away the dark smudges he could see. "Atavus open your eyes. I see nothing to fear. What brings you such sorrow?"

Her eyes did not open immediately, but one silent tear streamed from under her lashes, and he could see that it was black. She opened her eyes staring into his own blue eyes. She could see the look of horror cross his face. She pulled away from his hand turning to the side so he could no longer see her eyes. "Don't look at me." She cried.

He looked to Lord Elrond who also held a shocked look at first, but after a moment understood what Legolas wanted. He stood moving behind his chair so Legolas could sit there in front of her.

"Atavus. Don't turn away from us. I'm sorry. I was shocked." He said reaching out and taking her chin in his hand, pulling her face to his again. The tears were truly flowing now, and he could now see where the black smudges on her cheeks came from. "We do not reject you. We love you. We will do every thing possible to help you through this. No matter what happens none of us will stop caring for you. I will not stop caring for you _mellon-nin._" He again pulled her into his arms kissing her brow. "Stop crying please. It will be all right. We can make it through this."

She didn't pull away this time. No matter how wrong she felt, she needed the comfort her friend was providing. She needed to be told that she would make it past all this. She didn't even care that his arm was draped over the lash wounds on her back that had not healed. The pain in her body was nothing compared to the pain in her heart, and that heart needed the comfort he offered.

But Estel had seen the rips in her tunic that coincided with lash marks. He knew she must still be in great pain. "Ada, she has wounds that don't heal. I think she needs to be treated for those before we try to figure out what has caused this."

Legolas pulled away looking down at her, for the first time seeing the cloth they had wrapped around her forearm. He wondered what other wounds the cloak hid. He remembered his own experience with the orc and his lash.

They left the study, making their way to Atavus' room which stood across the hall from Legolas'. She stopped before entering, with a nervous look on her face. Legolas had not let go of her yet. He was half afraid she would bolt for the door if he did. "What is it Atavus?"

She looked at the men surrounding her and her cheeks turned scarlet. "I have to remove my shirt to be treated." She swallowed hard. None of them seemed to understand her discomfort. "I know you all think of me as a sister, but I am a woman." She reminded them.

The four younger men began to blush also. Lord Elrond just shook his head. "Atavus please go in and remove your shirt. Lie down on the bed on your stomach. Cover yourself as much as you have to, to feel comfortable. Let us know when you are ready. Estel and Legolas will help me." He could see the twinkle in the twin's eyes, and knew it would be best to keep them out of the room. The girl felt embarrassed enough as it was. "Would that help you?"

She nodded moving into the room and doing as he instructed. Other than when she dislocated her shoulder before first coming to Rivendell she had never had to be treated for anything. It was a very new and embarrassing experience for her. She called out when she was ready for them to enter.

Lord Elrond knew after seeing her back that the twins would have never made any teasing comments even if they were allowed to enter the room. Though not as bad as Legolas' wounds had been, they were just as disturbing to see.

Legolas and Estel looked to each other when they saw the sight and each silently vowed to kill the orc who had done such a horrible thing to her. Estel moved around the room getting the supplies Elrond would need, while Legolas sat beside her on the bed cleansing the wounds.

"Atavus I know why you traded yourself for me back in the cave. I understand that. You were afraid I was going to die, but I wish you had not done so." Legolas said watching the reactions on her face. Her face was turned towards his side of the bed, away from where Elrond was treating the warg bite. "If you had not, none of this would have happened to you." She knew he was talking about her blood, not the wounds.

"No matter what has become of me Legolas, I would not go back and change that moment for anything in this world. You were being used as bait for me, by the orc. If you had died, it would have been because of me. I would not have wanted to live anymore." She admitted.

"You probably wouldn't have." Elrond suggested. Legolas looked to him questioningly.

"This morning when I had the vision of where she was, she was close to fading. If Estel hadn't found her so soon she might have."

Legolas had not been told that part. He looked to Atavus who just closed her eyes, not wanting to see his face. "I did not know she could fade."

"Neither did I. There must be enough elf blood in her to make it possible. But if you had died in that cave it would have caused the same reaction from her, only I do not believe that even Estel's friendship would have brought her back to us. With you both still alive there is still hope. You know that don't you Atavus?" Elrond wanted to be sure that she was far from that danger.

"Yes Lord Elrond. If I did not still hold but a little hope for my future, I would have never came back here willingly." She said turning her head towards him.

"That is encouraging. And please call me Ada, my child. Lord Elrond sounds too formal on you lips." He said stoking her hair for a moment. She truly seemed like a child to him at that moment. She held so much fear in those disturbing black eyes.

"Thank you Ada." She whispered. He could see she was exhausted.

Legolas had smeared a healing salve over the wounds on her back, and then bandaged them. Elrond had mixed up another salve that would be good for drawing the infection out of the bite wound. "What kind of animal bit you?"

"Warg." She answered.

"We must keep an eye on that wound. Warg bites can cause great illness." He said wrapping the forearm again. "For now I want you to put on a clean dressing gown, and get some sleep. One of us will come back in a few moments to sit with you. We must watch for fever. We will speak in the morning about what happened."

She nodded drowsily.

Lord Elrond directed them into Legolas' room across the hall. "Legolas you are still too weak. I know you want to sit with her, but I suggest you let Estel take the first watch." Legolas could tell that it was an order not a request, so he nodded. "Estel I'm going to go brew some tea that will ease her pain. I'll bring it to you when it is done." With that he left the room.

Legolas sat on the bed staring at the closed bedroom door across the hall.

"Legolas I know you feel responsible for this. So do I. But it is better to have her with us now, even as she is, with the hope that she can overcome this, than to have lost you both." Estel said sitting beside his friend draping one arm over his shoulder.

"But what if she can't overcome this? No matter how often we tell her that it does not matter to us, she will not be able to accept it. She almost faded this morning. It will happen again." Legolas said not looking to Estel.

"We have to have faith in her, and in my Ada that he can figure out what did this, and reverse it. I refuse to think about the possibility that she might not get back to where she was, until that is the only option left. If we show her that we won't give up on her, maybe she won't give up on herself." Estel tried to reason.

"You are becoming wiser my friend." Legolas smiled at the optimism of his young friend. "Sometimes you seem wiser than I."

"I could have told you that." Estel smiled teasingly.


	9. Chapter 9: Truth and Consequences

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1.

**Review Responses: **

_Karone_ _Evertree_: To them she is like a little sister. And on top of that she had fought by their sides many times, which also makes her sort of one of the guys. They don't ever feel uncomfortable around her, like men do around the opposite sex usually, at least not until she reminds them that she is a full-grown woman. Then of course they are all embarrassed, except lord Elrond, who is way above that.

Sorry I confused you there. I meant their connection as friends, and if you remember from the first few chapters of Blood he felt cold around her all the time. That eventually wore off as she got away from Mordor. Her orc blood was more prominent the closer to Mordor she was, because of the evil that was there. Read on in this chapter. You're getting close to why she is turning into an orc. Lets say it's all in the blood.

_manveri_ _mirkiel_: Yes Atavus is very mixed up right now. But there is still hope for her. And I never thought I'd have to protect an orc, but leave Uglúk alone. Maybe I need to give you a distraction. Hmmm. I haven't gotten to torture anyone in several chapters. I'm going through withdrawals. Oh Pippin. Now where is that hobbit?

Oh and by the way my nephew really ate my homework once. The teacher didn't believe me. So I doubt the warg thing will work. Sorry.

_Slayer3_: My gosh, I've made everybody cry today. And yes I definitely agree. Orlando is much more than just a hot guy. Especially when holding a sword, bow, dagger, you name it.

**Author's** **Note**: Well that last chapter was very tearful, so I decided to lighten the mood a little on this chapter. Not completely. Just a little.

**Sindarin Translations:**

_Gwathel-nin –my sworn sister, not of blood._

"_Hannon le, Gwador nin" – "Thank you, my brother." – sworn brother, not of blood._

**Truth and Consequences**

"Did she have a fever?" Lord Elrond asked Legolas as he entered Atavus' room

"Yes, but not bad. As soon as she wakes I want to check her arm." Legolas answered standing stiffly from the chair he had occupied for a few hours.

Elrond noticed that his youngest son was curled into a chair in the corner asleep. "He wouldn't go back to his room?" He asked.

"No when I came to take my turn he refused to go to bed. He fell asleep a short time ago." Legolas answered staring at his human friend. "I worry about him."

"What worries you?" Elrond asked.

"I think he feels more guilt over leaving her there than he is willing to admit. It drives him too hard." Legolas said moving across the room and placing a blanket over his friend.

"I think he is not the only one who let's their guilt drive them too far." Elrond commented. "Did you sleep at all before you came in here?"

"I had a lot to think about." Legolas answered quietly.

"I can see the only way I'm going to get you two to stop blaming yourselves is to figure out what has caused this and fix it. Isn't it?" Elrond said pushing Legolas back to his chair.

"I would have to agree with you Ada. These two don't know when to accept that things happen that are beyond our control." A soft voice spoke up from the bed. Elrond turned quickly, surprised to see Atavus sitting up behind him.

Legolas smiled to see Elrond startled. It wasn't something that was seen often. "I should have warned you about that. She always knows when we are speaking about her, even if she's asleep." Legolas explained.

"I'll have to remember that. Well child, since you are awake, I need to check your wounds." He said smiling at the uncomfortable look on her face. "Come its not that bad." He could also see the teasing smile on Legolas' face. "Don't worry your next. I haven't forgotten that I have two patients." He said pointing to him.

Luckily the nightgown she had chosen buttoned in the back so she was able to stay where she was while he checked them. "The salve is working nicely on these. Another day and you won't even have to have the bandages." Then it was time to check her arm. She could see immediately that the bite wound was worse not better. "This should have started to heal. I must think on it. Maybe there is something I am missing."

Atavus just nodded. Elrond then checked Legolas' wounds. "Yours are healing, but they were much worse to begin with. It will be a couple of days until the bandages can stay off."

The twins had entered the room and were doing there best to try to wake Estel without anyone noticing. "You know how your brother is if you wake him without enough sleep. I would not suggest that." But it was too late. Both brothers had been each sitting on an arm of the overstuffed chair that their brother slept in. Unfortunately at Lord Elrond's words Elrohir stood too quickly which caused Elladan's side of the chair to tilt over, leaving both he and Estel sprawled on the floor.

No matter how dire her situation was, Atavus could not hold back the laughter that threatened to break through. Legolas discreetly covered his mouth hoping his friend wouldn't see his own laughter.

Estel rolled to his back looking around the room trying to decide whom to strangle first. His eyes lighted on Elrohir standing near the door trying to look innocent. But Elladan was closer. Then he looked to his father, and his friends. When he heard Atavus' laughter he decided he would fall on the floor a million times to see her face without tears. "I don't exactly know who is responsible for me being dumped on the floor, but I'm sure I will find out." This brought more howls of laughter from his friends.

"Estel, Elladan get up and sit in your chairs properly." Elrond admonished, but when he looked back to Legolas and Atavus they could see he could hardly hold his own laughter at bay.

"Now that everyone is awake and present, we need to speak of more serious matters. Atavus." Elrond commented taking a seat at the end of her bed, masking his own humor with a serious look.

She breathed deeply, looking around at the family she had come to love so dearly. Then she thought of the family she never really knew. She had a mother who treated her kind like pets. She had a brother very much like herself, whose life was cut off before he truly had a chance to live. Then there was Uglúk. He was the only member of her real family that she had ever met, and the two of them had spent the last few months trying to kill each other. How could her life be so messed up?

She began to slowly tell them what had happened in the caves. She started the tale when they had entered the caves, knowing that Estel hadn't had the chance to tell them anything. When she told them of the orc killing his own brother, there were many gasps heard around the room.

"How could anyone kill their own brother?" Elladan asked imagining what it would be like just to lose Elrohir. He could not even think of hurting him himself. With the anger she had felt towards the orc she herself knew exactly what could drive someone to try to kill his or her own brother. She had tried herself.

"Jealousy breeds hatred. I guess the orcs mother doted on his brother. And besides the way orcs treat my kind, can you imagine how they would treat the family of one of us. It is not hard to hate for an orc. It is drummed into them from birth." She said then continued her story until she came to the part where she was backed into the tunnel with nowhere left to go.

She did not know how to tell them of what happened, and what was said. She looked around to them starting to speak, but stopping. "It's okay Atavus. We understand this is hard for you." Legolas said sitting beside her on the bed wrapping an arm around her waist. "We're not here to judge you."

She looked to him then looked at her hands in her lap continuing her story, but not looking up again. "He used a club to knock the breath from me, then he started in with the lash. He had me beat down to the ground before he stopped. I had no more strength in me. But then he started talking to me. He told me something that changed everything." She stopped again closing her eyes. She felt cold shivers run down her back as she remembered the orc's words.

"It's okay Atavus. You can tell us anything." Lord Elrond knew that they were getting close to the cause of the problem.

The tears had started coursing down her cheeks again. "In his own round about way he told me that his mother had another throwback child, and that, that child was me."

You could have heard a pin drop in the room as they each thought of the implications of her words. Legolas' arm tightened around her, as his anger rose even higher at the orc.

"Are you sure he spoke the truth?" Estel asked.

"Yes, Lord Elrond worked with me many long hours on discerning the truth from a lie. There was no lie in his voice." She still would not look up at them. "What happened next surprised both of us I think. His words saying that he had killed his brother, who was like me kept flashing through my mind. He had killed the one person who could truly understand what it was like to be me. And he gloated about it. He had tortured my friends, and it had pleased him. And he tortured me, and enjoyed it. It mattered not to me that he too was my brother. All that mattered to me at that moment was revenge. It felt as if my entire soul was burning from within. He was wearing my dagger on his belt. I jumped on him knocking him down, and then plunged the dagger in his ribs. I know I pierced his lung. There is no doubt in my mind."

She stopped speaking for a moment. The hardest part was actually the next part. "The thing that I did not realize when I stabbed him was the fact that he had dropped the lash as he spoke to me. He was unarmed. He said I was more like an orc than I realized. He called me a murderer. Then I ran." She finished speaking. She knew she would have to face them eventually. But it was difficult. She wasn't sure if she should be more ashamed of stabbing the orc or of not finishing him off when she had the chance.

"So he is dead?" Estel asked.

"I'm not sure. The last time I saw him he was in bad shape, but after his words, I didn't have the heart to finish it. I just wanted to come home." She answered wondering if they would think her week for not finishing the orc.

"Good. That means I still have a chance to kill him myself." Was Estel's only response. Atavus was shocked at the hatred she heard. "I don't care if that creature was born as your brother, if I ever see it again, I will kill it."

"I think that's a sentiment that all of us share Estel. Atavus I don't want to ever give him the chance to hurt you again." Legolas said. "And I can see the guilty look in your eyes. You are not a murderer. And I don't blame you for not finishing him. You'd had more than enough. Just the fact that you were able to break away and escape, shows me how strong you truly are."

"What I would like to know is where the warg came into this story." Elrond asked.

"That was my own foolishness, I'm afraid. After I left the caves I fell asleep. I was so exhausted. It was able to sneak up on me while I slept. I'm lucky to be alive now." She did not tell the others about the orc killing the warg. She did not really understand why he had done it, and that was something she would have to figure out for herself.

"Ada have Atavus' words given you any idea how to cure this affliction, or even at least given you the reason why this would happen to her?" Elladan asked.

"As for how this happened, yes I am sure I know why." Elrond answered. "Atavus when you were in the tunnel you lost quite a lot of blood, correct?"

"Yes Ada." She answered.

"With all the blood tests I have performed I think I have discovered something. For your blood to have the healing ability that it has, you need to have equal parts orc blood, and equal parts elf blood. You said in the tunnel your blood seemed to be on fire, and you were full of rage. And on many occasions I have heard you say that you get your temper from your orc blood. I know when you said that you were jesting, but you don't know how right you might have been. I believe that in the tunnel your body was furiously trying to replace the blood you lost, but since you were in a rage, your body only produced the orc half of the blood. So now you have an imbalance of the two parts. More orc than elf, which has hampered your healing abilities." He paused waiting for them to absorb the information.

"So what must I do to change this?" Atavus asked. Elrond had made it sound as if it was just a simple mistake that her body had unwittingly caused.

"In normal cases I would tell you to wait, and your own body would eventually correct the imbalance. Your body strives to be it's best. And it sees that balance to be perfect." Elrond said, but Atavus knew it could not be that simple.

"In normal cases, but….." She started waiting for him to finish.

"But you are wounded, and nothing I have tried seems to heal that bite. I believe that if we don't do something soon to correct your blood imbalance that there could be dire circumstances." Elrond did not want to tell them what the consequences could be, but he could see that they would not let it go at that. "Atavus I don't know anything about treating orcs. And by all rights, with your blood the way it is you are an orc. That bite will get worse, and you will become very sick, until you either lose the arm or your life." The shocked look on Atavus' face was exactly what he had expected. She didn't feel at all sick at that moment, with those she cared for surrounding her.

"Ada what do we have to do?" Estel asked willing to try anything.

"There is something I have heard of. It is a human treatment. I never thought it would be necessary for the elves, but in this case it might work. But I will need to send someone to Lake Town to see the healers there. I need something very special for this treatment, and that is the only place I know of to get them." Elrond said standing to go find someone to send on the journey. It would take a rider on horseback at least eight days to get there and return with the items, and he did not want to lose a moment.

"Ada, let Elladan and I go." Elrohir asked.

"Are you sure Elrohir?" He asked.

"Yes. I would not trust such an important journey to anyone else. We are the fastest riders in all Imladris." Elrohir said looking at Atavus. "We won't let you down _Gwathel-nin._"

"_Hannon le, Gwador-nin."_ She answered taking his hand and squeezing it. "I trust you both with my life."


	10. Chapter 10: Illness and Fast Horses

**Disclaimer: **Not mine, no matter how hard I try.

**Review Responses: **

_Karone_ _Evertree_: I needed a break too. Too much pain and torture can get weary for even the writer. Hmmm. Blood transfusion, good guess. But I'm not going to tell you if you're right or not yet. You'll just have to keep reading.

_Deana_: Another vote for blood transfusion. Yes I know Legolas would volunteer, but as I told Karone you just have to keep reading to find out.

_Slayer3_: I love you dearly, but I am a diabetic, and you just gave **what** to my alter ego. Sugar high! Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. That's better than the precioussssssssss.

_DarkAngelOfDreams_: Oh, oh I got a new reviewer. I see you're on chapter 1. I hope by the time you get to this chapter you still love it.

**Illness and Fast Horses**

"Ada she's getting worse." Estel said turning to his father who was brewing a concoction for fever.

"I know Estel. There is not much we can do until your brothers come back. We must treat her symptoms, and give her whatever strength we can mentally. I just hope it is not too late by then." Elrond said pouring the liquid into a cup and handing it to Estel. The twins had been gone for three days, and during the daytime hours Atavus seemed fine, but at night her temperature would rise until she was incoherent.

Legolas propped Atavus up letting Estel try to get the liquid down her throat. "Atavus you must drink. The fever is too high." Legolas whispered into her ear. Atavus' eyes slid open, and she leaned forward to take the cup in her mouth. Unfortunately she was not coherent enough to control her own swallowing, and she choked on the liquid. "Slow down, _mellon_-_nin_." Legolas warned patting her back. She then tried the liquid again, which made it down her parched throat. Afterwards he helped her slip down into the pillow.

"What's happening Legolas? I don't understand." She asked with a look of confusion in her black eyes. She had asked that question ever night since the twins had left. When the fever had her in it's grip, she could not remember what had happened.

Legolas gave her the same answer as he did every night. "You are very sick Atavus. The twins have traveled to Lake Town to get something Elrond needs to help you get better."

"But Legolas, I never get sick, and the twins don't even like me." He knew she sometimes lived in the times before Dol Guldur, while under the fever's spell.

"Yes you do get sick, and the twins love you like a sister, _mellon_-_nin_. The fever has made you forget." Legolas tried to calm her.

The confused look in her eyes made him wish he could prove his words to her. But he could not. "Sleep now. You will feel better when the fever leaves." He said placing a kiss on her fevered brow.

Estel was watching from the foot of the bed. "Ada what is to be expected in the next few days?"

Elrond sighed taking a seat next to the bed leaning forward with his forehead in his hands. It was the closest Estel had ever seen his father to being truly stressed. "The fevers will last longer. She will become more confused. She may not recognize us anymore. But we must keep speaking to her. She must hear loving voices. As we speak her body is working to replace the orc blood with Elvin blood, but it is a slow process. Too slow. She needs help from us."

"What do we need to do for her?" Estel asked.

"For now just talk to her. Just hearing your voices can help." Elrond answered looking at his youngest son.

"Can help, but it can't cure her can it?" Estel said understanding his father's words too well.

"No, it can't. For that we must wait." The Elf Lord knew his youngest son had very little patience, and the days to come would be very difficult for him.

* * *

"Why would your father want these? You can't use them on elves." The human healer asked Elladan as he handed him a square box, which contained what they had been sent for.

"We have a friend who is not elf, that needs them." Was the only answer he could give the healer.

"Well I wish your friend luck. Make sure you don't touch them. They don't mix well with Elves." The healer called out the door as the twins mounted their horses. They had made the ride in record time cutting the trip down to three days there, and they planned on trying to beat that on the way home.

As they stopped later in the day, to water the horses, Elrohir opened the box Elladan had strapped to his horse. The box was not overly large, but what he saw inside, made his eyebrows rise in surprise. "I hope Ada knows what he is doing with these."

Elladan crossed to where his brother stood, and made a funny face as he peered in the box. He had never heard of what his father had sent them for. "Surely the healers would not be playing a prank on us. But why would Ada want those?"

"I don't know. But I don't want to waste the time it would take to go back and ask." Elrohir answered mounting his horse again.

* * *

As the next three days passed two elves and a human watched as the woman they had come to care for so much deteriorated before their eyes. Atavus had but brief moments of lucid thought. Legolas, and Estel took turns talking to her. They talked of anything and everything just wanting to let her know they were there. Elrond even spoke to her often, sometimes reading from her favorite books from his library.

Legolas was sitting on the bed beside her holding her hand. Her eyes had opened a moment before and she was watching him. "How are you today, _mellon_-_nin_?"

She did not answer him immediately. She looked around at her surroundings, and then at the three people in the room. "Where am I? Who are you?" She asked confusion showing again in her eyes.

Legolas flinched at her words. "Lord Elrond?" He said in a strained voice.

"It is all right Legolas. I warned you of this. The fever is playing tricks in her mind. Just reassure her." Elrond said laying a strong hand on the younger elf's shoulder.

He nodded then turned to Atavus. "Atavus you know where you are. You are in Rivendell. And you know me. I am your friend Legolas. And Estel is here also, as is Lord Elrond."

"I have always dreamed of seeing Rivendell, but this can not be real." She said looking out the balcony door at the beautiful gardens she could see in the distance.

"Yes it is. You are sick. The fever plays tricks on you. Makes you forget what you should hold dearest in your heart. Do not let it control you." Legolas said stroking her cheek, wanting her to remember him so badly.

"How did I come to be here? The last I remember I was getting ready to leave Ithilien with Galen's people. Wait. I remember you. You were with Galen when he came to tell me they were leaving." She remembered the golden haired elf she had held her bow on.

"Oh Atavus that was over two and a half years ago. So much has happened since then." Legolas smiled as if he was trying to explain something very complicated to a child.

"Two and a half years! But how can that be?" She said fear rising in her voice.

"Do not fear, Atavus. You are among those who love you most in this world. We will not let anything harm you." Estel said sitting on the other side of the bed. He had overheard the conversation they were having and wanted to help Legolas assure her.

"Love? What do you mean? No one has ever loved me." She said indignantly.

"You are so wrong, _mellon-nin_. In the past two and half years you have gained a family that loves you dearly. You have saved both of our lives. You have bravely faced many adversaries, and found a place in the hearts of the Elves of Imladris." Estel said willing her to believe him.

She didn't know if she should believe him or not. But one thing stuck in her mind. He had called her _mellon-nin_. She knew that the word meant my friend in Elvish, but she knew not how she knew it. She didn't speak Elvish. Unless someone had taught her. Her head was beginning to spin. "I think I need to sleep." She said closing her eyes to them. It did not take her long to fall asleep.

"Ada how long will her memory loss last?" Estel asked holding her hand and stroking it absentmindedly.

"That is hard to determine, Estel. She may remember everything the next time she wakes. Or she may be back in Mordor in her mind the next time. No one can tell." Elrond answered.

* * *

It was after noon on the sixth day when Lord Elrond next checked her arm. The wound didn't seem any worse than that morning. He began to think that maybe her body had produced enough of the elvish blood to start the healing process again. That was a good sign. It would make what he intended to do to help her easier. He knew that if he left her be for long enough her body would catch up and heal the wound on its own, but the longer her fevers persisted the more chance there would be that she would not be the same mentally when she was healed. He intended to speed the process in another way. He knew if the balance within her blood were restored she would be healed within a days time.

He heard the commotion coming from down the hall, and stepped to the doorway. To his surprise his twin sons were coming towards him carrying a box. "Ada, I hope this is what you wanted." Elrohir said handing the box to his father.

"How did you make that journey so quick?" Elrond asked still amazed that they were already back.

"You'd be surprised what a horse can do when you give it enough Miruvor." Elladan answered. Elrond had never thought of giving a horse the strength giving cordial of the Elves.

"Come in here. Rest while I inspect what you have brought." Elrond said smiling for the first time in days.

"The human healer warned that they were not to be touched by elves, Ada." Elladan warned.

"Yes I know. Estel will have to use them." Elrond stated as he walked back into Atavus' room.

_

* * *

Author's Note: Anyone want to venture a guess at what's in the box? I would like to see if anyone can read my mind. Well friends there are only two more chapters left. Then it's on to the third story in this series, titled Healer of Rohan. I hope you all continue on to read that one as well. Honestly that is the one I had in mind when I started all this, but these other two just begged to be told, and since I like to go in chronological order as I write, you see what happened. And for those of you who really love Atavus the plot bunnies have been kind and slipped a fourth story into my mind also. It is yet untitled, but I'm still developing it in the old noggin._


	11. Chapter 11: The Healing Power of Friends

**Disclaimer: **If they were mine would I be wasting my time writing about them? No, well Atavus is mine at least. Poor thing I feel sorry for her because she has to put up with me.

**Review Responses:**

_Slayer3_: Aw don't worry about it. I cheat sometimes. Maybe that's why I type so fast. Hyper. Hmmm.

_Karone_ _Evertree_: No guess huh. That's okay. You're about to find out. By the way the elves not being able to touch them, is just something I made up to add credit to Lord Elrond's theory.

_Zombie_ _Lord_: A dead guy in a box. That's not a guess I expected, but I'll let you know now that it is not quite right. Thanks for making me laugh though.

_manveri_ _mirkiel_:

Chapter 9: Yes my nephew ate a report I wrote for Science class I do believe. He was 3. I think he just did it to get my attention though.

Yes I can be humorous sometimes. (Even if it is morbid humor.)

Honestly the only subject in school that I even liked was English. I loved to read & write the moment I picked up a pencil. I have written poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and even a couple of plays. I have to admit though that my writing in the past has always been pretty fluffy, and I wasn't always that pleased with it, but now that I'm writing evilly morbid stuff, I'm really enjoying myself. (Does that make me weird?) And thank you for the ovation. Thank you, thank you, and thank you.

Chapter 10: drum roll please. And the prize goes to manveri, for being the only one to figure out what was in the box. You know your mind is a lot like mine. I'm sorry.

About the reason why elves can't touch them, I have a theory in my head that didn't make it to paper exactly. Maybe next chapter. Oh I'm not going to tell you yet. I'll just put it in the next chapter. It needs to be told.

**The Healing Power of Friends**

Elrohir and Elladan each took comfortable seats at the foot of Atavus' bed. Lord Elrond sat at a writing desk that was situated in the corner. Legolas and Estel stood on either side of him wondering what he had been keeping as a well-guarded secret for the last six days.

"Ah, these are perfect." He said opening the box and peering at dozens of small creatures in the bottom.

"What are those Ada?" Estel asked with a disgusted look on his face.

"These are called leaches." Elrond answered showing the contents of the box to Legolas.

"And how are those supposed to help Atavus?" Legolas answered mirroring Estel's look of disgust.

"These will be used during the first part of Atavus' treatment. Right now Atavus has too much orc blood in her system. Her body is trying to replace it with elf blood, but it is a slow process. We are going to use these to speed the process up." Elrond said using a quill to test the reactions of the squirming creatures.

"How?" Estel was afraid to ask.

"These little monsters attach to a host and drink their blood, literally pulling it through the skin." Elrond answered smiling at the looks of horror he caused.

"But Ada the human healers said that they couldn't be used on elves. Atavus has elf blood also." Elladan pointed out turning to look at his father in concern.

"Yes. I know. I have a theory about these things though. They won't drink elf blood, which leaves me to believe that they might be able to separate the two different bloods in her system and leave the elf part alone, which would be a definite advantage to my plan." Elrond explained.

"But you are not sure." Elrohir stated thinking they might have made the trip Lake Town for nothing.

"No I'm not. All we can do is test it." Elrond answered, but he was sure of his theory. They could see it in his eyes.

"Now Estel, you are going to have to apply these. If I handle them it might spook them and then they wouldn't feed at all." Elrond said handing the box to Estel.

Estel gave his father a look of contempt. "It's always the token human that gets the dirty jobs, isn't it?"

"Yes it is." Elrond said pushing his youngest son towards the bed, following him.

Estel sat beside his friend looking down at her, and silently asking her to forgive him for what he had to do. "How do I do this Ada?"

"Place one at a time on her arm. Let it feed. It will swell to triple its normal size. Then you remove it. Place it in the trashcan, and then place another. Repeat this until you have used say two-dozen of them. I think that will be enough. Then we must move on to the second phase of the treatment." Elrond explained.

Estel took one long breath then reached into the box pulling out one of the slimy creatures. It immediately curled around his finger trying to latch on. He quickly placed it on her arm, waiting to see what it's reaction would be. To his disappointment the creature curled into a ball refusing to latch onto the skin. "Ada it's not working."

Elrond stood for a moment contemplating how to get the creature to take to her blood. "Use your dagger Estel and make a small pinprick in her skin next to it. Maybe if it can smell the blood it will be more willing."

"All right." Estel hated the idea of cutting his friend but if it would save her life he must try. So he did as his father instructed and then waited again. He could see the black blood bubble to the surface. He let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding as the leach uncurled and latched onto the place where it sensed the blood coming from. "It's working." Estel said looking to his father.

"Good. Now I must go to my study and mix up something I will need for the second part of the treatment. You continue as I instructed." Lord Elrond instructed him then left the room.

Elladan could see the bright smile on his brother's face, and could not resist the urge to tease. "Estel when this is all over with I'll see if Ada will let you keep your knew pets."

Estel shot his brother a withering glare, then the glare turned back to a broad smile. "That would be fine. I'm sure I could put them to good use." He said imagining his brothers waking up to slimy creatures in their beds.

"Maybe not." Elrohir stated seriously.

* * *

Later that day when Estel had removed the last of the two-dozen leaches, he asked Legolas to get his father.

Lord Elrond heard a knock on the door. "Come in." He said capping the bottle of liquid he had just finished. There was a strong odor in the study that Legolas did not recognize.

"Lord Elrond, Estel sent me. He is done with the leaches." Legolas stated crinkling his nose.

"Good this is done. We can proceed now. Legolas I am going to ask you to do something for Atavus that might leave you weaker than normal. Are you willing to help? If not I will do it myself. I just think it would work better with you." Elrond asked.

"I would walk into the fires of Mt. Doom to help her Elrond. Whatever you ask I will do." Legolas answered.

"I thought that would be your answer. Come no time to waste." Elrond said leading the way back to Atavus' room.

Once there Lord Elrond took Estel's place on the bed looking at the leaches in the trash bin. He decided that the amount of blood removed was close enough to what would need to be replaced. He then uncorked the bottle he had brought with him. A strong odor permeated the room causing coughs from the twins and Legolas. He placed the bottle under Atavus' nose wafting it back and forth so she would get the full affect. It worked. She came suddenly awake gagging on the smell.

Elrond quickly pulled the bottle back capping it. "Atavus, come on. We need you awake for this. You have to wake up." She looked at him the look of confusion in her eyes again.

She could see the worried looks on their faces. Especially on Legolas' features as he remembered the last time she had woken, not knowing who he was. "Lord Elrond, why do you all look so worried. I know I'm sick. But I'm not dead yet." She said looking to each face in turn.

Legolas laughed hearing her words. She was coherent, and knew them again.

"Yes well earlier when you woke you didn't know who we were. We feared it might be the same again." Elrond explained. "But since you are more coherent now I need to know how you feel."

She scrunched her forehead slightly trying to figure out just how she did feel. "Actually weak I think, and sort of lightheaded." She answered knowing better than to lie to the Lord.

"Good that's exactly how you should feel." He said smiling.

"What?" She asked not understanding.

"I know I am confusing you, but the treatment I am trying on you has left you low on blood, and that is what has caused your weakness." Elrond explained.

"I'm low on blood?" She questioned. "How did you do that?"

"I'll tell you that part when you are feeling better. But for now we need to replace the blood that is gone. You're going to need your special talent for that." Elrond stood motioning Legolas to sit where he had been.

He could see that she did not understand what he intended her to do. "Think of it like this. Normally when you heal someone who has been poisoned you draw the poison out of his or her body, and replace it with your own blood. But today I want you to use your talent to draw Legolas' blood into your own body, but don't replace it with anything."

"But won't that leave Legolas without enough blood?" She asked horrified at the thought of causing her friend to become ill.

"No I will monitor the transfer, and let you know when to stop. Legolas will feel weaker than normal for a few days, but his body will soon make up the difference and get him back to normal. And best yet your balance of blood will be restored which should bring your speeded healing ability back, and you will no longer be sick." Elrond knew she would be hesitant to do anything that might hurt Legolas, but it was the only way he could see.

"Legolas?" She looked at him not knowing what to do.

"I have already agreed to this, _mellon-nin_. I would do anything to help you." Legolas answered.

"But you already lost a lot of blood when the orc tortured you. What if it's too much?" She said remembering the pool of blood they had found him in.

"I have been recovering for almost nine days now. I am fine. Lord Elrond has to monitor us, so he cannot be the donor, and Elladan and Elrohir are exhausted from the long journey they just returned from. And you know Estel is not an elf. My blood is the obvious choice. Please accept this as my gift to you, as I once accepted the gift of your blood to save my life." Legolas pleaded with her to accept his reasoning.

"I accept, _mellon-nin_." She finally answered after a few moments of thought.

"Good. Estel go around behind Atavus and help her sit up." Estel did as his father directed, positioning himself behind her so she was sitting, but leaning against him. Elrond then handed Atavus' knife to Legolas. "Slit the palm of your hand like you have seen Atavus do while healing others." Legolas obeyed slicing his right palm, and then handed the knife to Atavus, who slit her left palm. Elrond took a seat beside the bed touching each of the friend's temples creating a link between the three. "Now clasp hands. Atavus you must concentrate on this. Legolas can not do it for you."

The moment their hands met Atavus found her mind in a familiar place. It wasn't as if she could see inside Legolas, but more feel her way around. She searched though out him not sure how to pull the blood out. She came to the bright center of his being, feeling the warmth it radiated. She had not felt that warm in so long. She heard her own voice inside her head, saying that she did not understand how to do what was being asked of her. She then heard Lord Elrond's voice also. "You must determine how to pull the blood from him. I cannot tell you how. Neither can he."

She then heard a third voice in her head. It was Legolas. "Maybe I can. Can you feel where I begin, and you end?"

"Yes. You feel warm. I am cold." She answered.

Legolas had felt that also. "So try to pull the warmth into you." He suggested.

She took his suggestion and made it a reality. She felt her arm begin to warm as the fresh blood poured through her veins. "It's working." She giggled at the feeling it brought her.

The transfusion took only a few moments. "That is enough. The balance is restored." She heard Lord Elrond's voice in her mind again. She did not want to let go of Legolas. Her mind had lingered near his soul as the transfusion took place, and she could hear it whispering words of encouragement to her. She let it wrap around her for just a moment more then pulled her mind back to herself.

Three sets of eyes opened. One set the color of dark blue sapphires, another set were the brightest blue possible, and the third were emerald green, almost the color of a field of new grown grass.

Estel stood retrieving a hand mirror from the nightstand, then handed it to Atavus. She was fearful of looking at it, but she had to know. She slowly looked into the mirror. Her hand began to shake, and she lowered the mirror. She looked up to her adoptive family, and clear tears of joy coursed down her cheeks.


	12. Chapter 12: Finally Home

**Disclaimer: **They shall never be mine no matter how hard I try, but try I shall.

**Review Responses: **

_manveri_ _mirkiel_: In the Merriam Webster Online dictionary when you type in leach it says it is a variant of leech, so they both are correct. But I like the way you remember that. For you I have made it leeches.

No update in six months, man I wonder how far you'd go to find me if I didn't update that long. Hmmmm.

Well Pippin is not immune to them either, so don't be so quick to give him a box of the slimy creatures. Remember the accident in Moria.

Yes our dear Atavus has green eyes. Mine are very light blue. Then again when I'm mad they are dark blue, and when I'm exited they are teal. It sucks to have mood rings for eyes. My husband always knows when to duck.

Well about Uglúk. You might not see him in the next story. He'll be back in the future. But that's in the fourth story. The third one is a shorter one, unless plot bunnies swamp me again (Yeah like that isn't gonna happen). The fourth one will be longer and we get to see what happens to the evil orc then. Sorry. Atavus needs a break from her dear brother. I want to focus on other things in the third one.

But then again I might take you up on your offer to kill the orc. I haven't completely decided how to get rid of him.

_Slayer3_: For someone with the name Slayer you sure are good at that happy dance.

_Deana_ and _Karone_ _Evertree_: I have to admit your guesses were half way right. (But that's only because after I read them I decided to steal them and put them in my story. Mrhahaha.) I love reviewers who double as plot bunnies. And yes Karone it is the lowly humans who get the dirty work. Humans and Hobbits that is. I mean you didn't see Lord Elrond lugging that ring up to Mt. Doom now did you?

**Finally Home**

It had been a fortnight since the treatment that Lord Elrond had administered to Atavus had worked. She was immensely glad that she was back to normal. Her body had completely healed, and the effects of the excess orc blood had worn off completely.

But not everything was right in her mind and heart. It was impossible for her to completely feel the same as before. She had seen what her rage, was capable of making her become, and she was frightened of it. She knew that her friends did not understand why she was pulling away from them. It was not intentional. It just seemed as if she had too much on her mind. From the moment she woke in the morning until the next time she would sleep her mind was going over ever thing that had occurred. And her thoughts left little room for time to spend with her friends.

"Lord Elrond what can we do?" Legolas asked standing on the Lord's balcony watching her sit alone in the garden below.

"Two weeks ago I would have told you that she just needed time, now I am not sure. She seems to be searching for an answer, that does not exist." Elrond said with a large sigh. "I am not sure what you can do for her."

Estel was sitting in one of the chairs silently watching and listening to his father and best friend discuss what they should do for Atavus. "We must do something." He said standing, and making his way to the set of steps that would lead him down to the garden.

"What are you doing Estel?" Legolas asked following him.

"I'm keeping a promise." Was his reply.

Atavus could hear her friends approaching. She smiled, but did not leave the spot she was sitting in by a large oak tree. "What kind of mischief are you two up to today?" She asked once they were right behind her.

"_Mellon_-_nin_ you mistake us for my brothers." Estel said sitting beside her. Legolas followed suit sitting on the other side of her.

"Estel you can cause more mischief than both of your brothers put together." She said giving him a teasing smile.

"I used to think that about you also." He answered in a more serious tone.

"Yes well maybe I'm not quite the same as I used to be." She answered looking forward, but not really seeing the beautiful flowers and trees in that direction. She was seeing her image in the stream.

"You are the same person, Atavus. You just are more experienced now. With knowledge comes experience as my Ada always says. But that knowledge does not have to change who you are." Estel said laying one hand on her shoulder.

"Estel I don't know how to go back to being that lighthearted person I used to be. My heart feels so heavy with worry." She admitted.

Legolas had expected her to say something like that. "You are worried that something might happen again to change you into what you hate the most."

She turned to him. She hadn't expected anyone to understand what she was feeling, but he knew exactly. She just nodded.

"Atavus Lord Elrond said that in time you might be able to control your blood production. The more you know about it the more you can control it. And anyway no matter what happens we will be there to help you with it. You won't ever have to face this alone." Legolas tried to reassure her.

She thought for a moment, and then said something that surprised them. "I had thought that when Uglúk killed his brother, that he had killed the only person who could possibly understand me, and what it was like to be this half-orc, half-elf thing that I am. But I was wrong. You two understand me better than I do sometimes. No matter what worries I have, you are there for me. I thank you both."

"How could we not be?" Estel said what they were both thinking.

They all three stood to enter Elrond's home. It was nearing nightfall and the evening meal would be ready soon. After dinner they all sat in comfortable chairs around the fireplace listening to music, and laughing. Atavus stayed with her friends instead of retreating to her own room as she usually did.

"Wait a minute. I just thought of something." Atavus said interrupting the conversation.

"What is it?" Legolas asked.

"Ada said that he would tell me later how I came to be low on blood volume. He never told me." She said looking around at her friends. Lord Elrond had been standing at the door listening to them talk when he heard her statement. He conveniently backed away before anyone noticed he was there, making a hasty retreat to his study. He decided he would leave it to the young ones to answer that question.

Elrohir looked to Elladan, who looked to Legolas, who looked to Estel. They all burst into laughter.

"Have you all gone mad?" She asked looking very serious.

"Estel why don't you tell Atavus about your knew pets." Elladan teased. Estel shot him a dark look.

"I kept them, you know." He shot back at Elladan who grimaced.

Estel then turned to Atavus remembering what he had, had to do with the creatures. "Atavus have you ever heard of leeches." He didn't expect that she had.

She looked surprised at his words. "Yes I have. Those vile things invaded every part of Minas Morgul. How they got there to begin with I don't know. But they found the torture pits to be quite a wonderful home, drinking the blood of all the slaves……." She then realized what she was saying. "Oh you didn't."

She looked to her friends and could see quiet mirth shining from all eyes except Estel's.

"We weren't sure it would work. The human healers Ada got them from said that they didn't work on elves. But once they smelled your blood, they latched on immediately." Estel tried to explain.

"That doesn't surprise me. Even though the orcs used them to feed on the slaves, their favorite meal was always orc blood. It seems the fouler the blood was, the more the monsters enjoyed it. So naturally the elves blood was not to their liking. To pure. I understand now why Elrond decided to go that direction. At least he could be certain that the creatures would only take the orc blood." She said shivering. She remembered the mark on her arm then that had taken longer to heal than the warg bite. She rubbed the place imagining Estel placing the leeches there.

"Sorry, it was necessary." He said smiling at her.

"You didn't really keep them did you?" She asked imagining the creepy, crawly things in her bed.

"Yes I did, but don't worry they are just for Elladan and Elrohir." He said smiling evilly at his brothers, which brought a great round of laughter from Legolas and Atavus.

Later as the embers had started to die down in the fireplace Atavus leaned over to Estel whispering for his ears only. "Estel thank you for keeping your promise."

"I would never let the void have you _mellon-nin._" He whispered back. "Besides we are home in Rivendell, and you are sitting near a fire laughing with your family and friends. That makes you the Atavus I know, does it not?"

"Yes it does. It is so good to finally be home."

**The End For Now**

_

* * *

Author's Note: Well that brings a nice fluffy end to the second story in my series. Well I'm tired of fluff for now. The next story will be anything but fluffy, or most of it anyways._

_The next story is called Healer of Rohan, and takes place during The Two Towers time frame, in guess where. Rohan. As I said before I will attempt to write this story without upsetting anything that the great master Tolkien has already written. It will pretty much be a filler for the time that they are in Edoras and Helm's Deep. _

_I hope that you all will enjoy it as much as you have seemed to enjoy my other two fics._


	13. Summary of Healer of Rohan

Author Note: Well has a fairly new rule that you can't post a chapter that is just an Author's note, so I am going to give you guys a better summary of my next fic and hope it doesn't break the rules, plus I have some reviews to respond to.

**Review Responses: **

_Karone_ _Evertree_: Yes Atavus is definitely going to be in the next two stories at least. I like her so much that I may just write an entire series about her.

_Deana_: Thank you, thank you, thank you.

_Slayer3: _Well I understand that. Even though I have been dubbed the Evilly Morbid Writer by a friend that shall remain nameless (cough, manveri, cough, mirkiel, cough.) I am still all nice and fluffy at some times. Shush manveri.

_manveri_ _mirkiel_: No matter how hard you try Pip will never be completely safe.

Yes my eyes change colors depending on the mood I'm in. When they turn dark blue everyone needs to clear out. And I won't tell you what my husband thinks when they are teal green.

Yes Uglúk is like a pig. And there is something I need to say about him. I have discovered that Tolkien had an Uruk–hai that was named Uglúk. And not to confuse the two they are not the same beast. My Uglúk is just a plain orc. I don't think anyone actually minds, but just to be safe I will change the spelling of my orc to Ugluk, leaving off the symbol above the u.

Okay on to the summary.

**Healer of Rohan**

Three friends scattered to the wind, but then brought back together by fate, during one of the most dangerous times imaginable. Can their friendship withstand the changes brought on by time and old wounds not quite healed? Will one of them go to far with their sense of duty, bringing about a final end to the friendship that should have withstood the test of time? Or will true friendship withstand all adversity?

_

* * *

Okay how's that. Anyone want to read it? I will try to get the first chapter up in a few days. As I said in the last chapter part of the story will take place during The Two Towers. I'm still doing a little research though. I'm trying to decide whether to use book verse or movie verse. I'm leaning towards book verse. What do you guys think?_

_Anyway I wish to thank all of my reviewers, and want to especially thank Deana, Karone Evertree, and manveri mirkiel for serving as such wonderful plot bunnies for me. Slayer3 for letting me know about the trailer for Kingdom of Heaven. Invisigoth3 for letting me know I'm not the only thirty-something mom who loves to write this dribble. Then there are Robyn, Zombie Lord, and DarkAngelofDreams, who were first time reviewers for me._


End file.
